Xander Begins: Year One
by seraphim2db
Summary: Batman: Buffy the vampire slayer crossover. Xander's parents are killed in front of him at the age of seven after they go down a dark alley. Bruce Wayne adopts him and he leaves for Gotham only to return to Sunnydale as Batman during season one.
1. Prologue

**Xander Begins**

Batman: Buffy the vampire slayer crossover. Xander's parents are killed in front of him at the age of seven after he and them go down a dark alley. Bruce Wayne adopts him and he leaves for Gotham only to return to Sunnydale as the dark knight, during season one.

Prologue

Sunnydale Night

1988

"That was an awesome movie." a little brown haired boy said as he walked up behind a redheaded girl and another boy who were about the same age as him. As they walked out of the movie theater, a couple walked in front of them to lead them home.

"I told you it would be." the red head replied as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah, they were all like pow...boom." the other little boy said as he did a punch and a kick to the air. Then he looked over at his friend and the both of them started to wrestle.

"Xander, Jesse stop that." a beautiful brunette said as she turned and looked at them.

"Yes Mrs. Harris."

"Okay, mom." Xander and Jesse chorused at the sametime. When Mrs. Harris turned back around and continued the walk with her husband, Jesse elbowed Xander and Xander kicked Jesse on the leg.

"I knew you two were gonna get in trouble." Willow said as she turned to look at the two.

"Stop acting wierd, Willow." Jesse teased.

"Yeah, Willow. Stop acting Wierd." Xander joined in causing Willow to roll her eyes at them.

"I don't know why you stopped those two from wrestling." Anthony Harris said over to his wife as he reached into his jacket and took out a flask of whiskey. He promised himself that he would never drink, because he never wanted to end up like his father. A drunkered and an abuser. But after getting married and having a son, he felt compelled to do it. "The boy needs to toughen up." he said referring to Xander.

"Honey be nice." Jessica Harris said as she put her head on her husband's shoulder. "Xander's just seven."

"Yeah, still..."Anthony trailed off as he saw an alley. "Let's take a short cut home."

"Honey are you sure?" Jessica asked fearfully. "Don't you remember what happened the last..."

"And didn't I scare them away?" he asked loudly, causing his wife and the kids to jump at the sound of his voice. "I'm sorry." he said after taking a deep breath. "But the last time somebody tried to mug us, didn't I give them what for?" he asked his wife. He might be turning into a bastard but he could still brawl with the best of them.

"I...I guess." Jessica stuttered out. Anthony, herself. and Xander had almost been killed the last time they had went down a dark alley. Her husband did scare off the mugger, but something felt strange about tonight. Especially since she had heard all of those rumors, about the monsters of Sunnydale.

Before she knew what was going on, her husband had grabbed her hand and led her down the alley. As her eye's adjusted to the darkness of the alley, she saw a blonde blur run in her direction. With a scream she saw that the man had a demonic face and fangs.

* * *

"I don't know why you wanted to come to this town, Dru." A skinny blonde man, wearing all black and a leather duster said in a british accent as he walked down an alley with a skinny attractive brunette.

"Don't worry, Spike." the woman he addressed as Dru said as she started to sway. "Darkness is coming in just a little while."

"Yeah, darkness." Spike said with a snort, as he was about to light up a cigarette. As soon as it touched his lips, he heard a heartbeat. Looking up he saw an attractive brunette being led into an alley by a big guy with a scowl on his face. "Finally some action." Spike muttered as he slipped into his vampiric visage. As soon as the woman looked up and screamed, it only brought a smile to Spike's face at what he was going to do. He then saw Dru, run past him and grab the man that was with the woman.

* * *

Xander and his friends froze as they were about to walk into the alley. As he heard his mother's scream and his father's muffled cry, Xander started to shake.

"What's going on?" Willow asked as tears started to flow down her face.

"I...I don't know." Xander replied as he looked at her.

"Xander...I...I think we should get out of here man." Jesse said as he started to fidget.

"I...I can't. I have to find out what's happenning to my parents." Xander said as he got himself under control and started down the alley. Pushing down their fear, Willow and Jesse followed.

As soon as they walked down the alley, a coppery smell filled their nostrails. As their eye's finally adjusted to the darkness, Xander saw his parents slumped up against a wall with their eyes wide open with strange people hovering over them.

Suddenly the strange woman sniffed the air and turned and looked Xander straight in the eyes. Then a smile appeared on her face as she wiped blood from her mouth.

"There he is Spike." Dru said, not taking her eye's off of Xander. "The dark one. The Dark Knight."

"You call'em Dark Knight." Spike started as he shifted back into his vampiric face. "I call'em snacks." he said as he started to walk towards the children. Willow let out a whimper and started to cry, as Jesse stood there in shock. But after seeing what happened to his parents did something to Xander. Like something dark had opened up in him.

* * *

"Are you ready to return to Gotham, Master Bruce?" an old british man said as he looked in the adjustable mirror and saw his young charge. Alfred was surprised at how much Bruce had grown up in his time away from him. And as soon as he had got back from studying in other countries he took back control over his father's business. Even coming all the way to Sunnydale and trying to expand upon, said business.

"Yes, Alfred." Bruce said in a monotone voice. "I'm ready too... Alfred pull the limo over!" he suddenly shouted as he saw three kids walking down an alley. Memories of his own parent's murder came to mind as the limo screeched to a halt. Not hearing Alfred's shout's Bruce Wayne ran for the alley, across the street.

"Leave me and my friends alone." Xander said as he jumped in front of Willow and Jesse and tried to shield them from view with his arms.

"Ah... a bloomin' hero." Spike said as he stopped and looked at Xander hard. "I think, I'll kill you first."

"Not likely." a voice said coldly from behind the children. Before Spike had enough time to look up at the voice, a powerful punch collided with his jaw, the force of which knocked him off of his feet. As he opened his eye's, from his position on the ground, he saw a powerfully built man with a business suit on and short black hair, standing at the mouth of the alley.

"Bloody hell." Spike said as he stood to his feet. "You throw a mean punch, mate." Spike said with a smile as he started to walk towards the man. That was until Drusilla, stepped in front of him.

"No...!" she yelled frightfully. "You shouldn't be 'ere. Shoo, Bat Shoo." she said to the man as she broke down and started to cry. "Spike we must get out of 'ere."

Recognizing that Drusilla was having a vision, he picked her up and ran the opposite direction of the man and the children. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the man didn't pursue them.

* * *

As soon as Bruce ran down the alley, he saw a man with a messed up face claiming that he was going to hurt a group of kids. After he punched the man, full force in the face, he looked further down the alley and saw two people huddled up against a wall. He totally ignored what the woman in front of him was saying though and just concentrated on the dead bodies. It was like he was reliving his childhood all over again.

Before he knew what was going on, he was kneeling beside the dead bodies, examining there faces.

"Are they dead." a boy's voice said from beside him. Looking over he saw a boy, around the age of seven with dark hair staring him straight in the eyes.

"Were they your parent's?" Bruce asked, noticing that the boy wasn't crying. Just like he did when he saw his parents get murdered.

"Are they dead?" the boy asked again, ignoring the man's question.

"I'm sorry." Bruce said as he dropped his gaze. "But yeah, they're dead." he said as he stood to his feet. "Now come on, I'll take you kids home."

"I don't have no home to go too!" Xander shouted at the man. "They do..." he said as he pointed at Willow and Jesse, who were still huddled together and crying. "But I don't have anybody."

"That's...that's not true." Bruce said sadly. Remembering that he had said the same thing to Alfred when he was young. "You have me."

Gotham City

Summer, 1997

A teenaged youth awoke from his nightmare, sweating and gasping for air.

"Damn." he said as he got out of his bed and grabbed a black silk robe off of his nightstand. "It was the same damn dream again. Why does it seem so real?" he asked himself.

'Those people seemed so familiar. That little girl with the red hair.' he thought to himself.

"I got to talk to Bruce in the morning." he said to himself as he looked at his clock and saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. "Well later today." he said as he layed back down in his bed. "God why does my life have to be so complicated?" he said to himself as he fell back into his dreams and nightmares.

TBC...

Please Review...

A/N I originally wrote this story over two or three weeks ago and I only posted it on a yahoo group. Now I see that someone has taken the name Xander Begins before I could post it on here so from now on the name of the story will be Xander Begins Year one. I'm really not even sure how much of this story I'm going to finish, so enjoy whatever I post.


	2. Chapter 1 Daddy's Little Secret

Chapter 1

Daddy's Little Secret

Xander let out a heavy sigh as he felt the sun's rays hit his face and skin. Cracking one of his eyes open, his suspicion was confirmed, when he saw Alfred opening up the blinds in his room.

"Good morning, Master Alexander." Alfred greeted, already knowing that Xander was awake.

"Good morning, Alfred." Xander replied with a groan as he got up out of bed. For almost nine years now, he'd tried to get Alfred to loosen up and at least call him Xander but to no avail.

"Would you like to eat breakfast this morning sir or will it be your usual Twinky?" Alfred asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. After all these years, he still couldn't believe that someone would ask for a Twinky as a breakfast item.

"I'll just take the Twinky, Al." Xander said as he started taking clothes out of a mahogany mini dresser. After taking out some grey sweatpants and a matching top, he put them on and started to strecth. "Hey, Alfred where's Bruce? I need to talk to him about something important."

"I'm sorry, young sir but after a business meeting that he has this morning, he has to leave town for about a week." Alfred answered. "But if you truly need someone to talk to, you know that you can always come to me." he said with a smile.

"It's just this dream, I've been having. Alot of my memories of when I was young are just so fuzzy. I keep remembering monsters. And...and this guy with blonde hair and a messed up face. Alfred when you and Bruce found me, I...I can't remember much but was there a red headed little girl there?"

"Yes...yes there was." Alfred confirmed. "I'm glad you don't remember much from that night, because it was horrible... simply horrible." he said as he remembered all of that blood. The scene looked even worse than when Bruce's parents were murdered. "But I'm afraid that what you need to know about that time of your life needs to come from Master Bruce. But what I can give you is this." he said as he reached into his pants pocket and took out an old withered wallet.

"Ohh... so Bruce has you giving me my allowance now?" Xander asked as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation for Alfred to drop him some C-notes.

"Not exactly." Alfred said with a smile as he reached into the wallet and took out a piece of paper. As Xander took the offered piece of paper he found it to be a photograph. A photograph of himself at the age of probably seven, another little boy and the girl he had dreamed of in his nightmares. They all had smiles on their faces and were hugging, as if they were having a good time. As he flipped the photograph over , he saw that the names read Alexander, Jesse, and Willow age seven Sept. 2,1988.

"We got that out of your real father's wallet." Alfred said snapping Xander out of his thoughts. "When we found you down that alley, Master Bruce took your fathers wallet to see who your parents were and we found that picture."

"Why does the date seem so familiar?" Xander asked as he put the photo in his pocket.

"It was the day before your parents were murdered." the old butler answered. "Now enough of this dreadful talk. I'll call Master Bruce later today and let him know that you must speak to him." and with that Alfred was out of the door.

The rest of the day Xander had spent exercising in the family gym room. He didn't want to become big and chiseled like Bruce, so he spent most of his time doing aerobic exercises. As he sat down on the floor to do his cool down routine, Alfred suddenly entered the room.

"Dinner is on the table,sir." Alfred informed him abruptly. "Now, I must retire for the evening. If you need anything, I'll be back later tonight." he said as he left the room.

"I've had it with this." Xander muttered under his breath as he threw his sweaty towel to the floor. "Today, I'm going to find out what you and Bruce have been hiding from me."

Forgetting all about dinner, Xander stealthly followed behind Alfred. Seeing that he was going downstairs, he decided to hide upstairs and to see where the older man was going. As he looked down he saw that Alfred was going to a door that Bruce had told him as a child to never try to enter.

* * *

Alfred distinctly felt as he was being followed. Looking behind himself, he saw that he was alone. 'I must be losing it at my old age.' Alfred thought to himself with a chuckle. "I wonder if Master Alexander is eating dinner?" he muttered to himself as he approached a door.

"No, I'm up here, Al." Xander called out, making the older man look up at him.

" Just checking, young sir." Alfred said as he opened the door.

"Four seconds from..." Xander said doing a calculation in his heas as below, Alfred started to walk into the other room. "Now!" Xander shouted out as Alfred disappeared inside and the door began to close. Xander then leaped from the bannister, grabbed the chandelier, swung to a large tapestry, slide down and into the passageway as the door slammed shut.

Unable to stop his momentum, Xander barreled through a dark doorway, tumbled down the long stairway onto the floor of a cave. Bats shreiked at the sound of the noise and flew about wildly in the cave. Getting up off of the dusty floor, he stood and saw Alfred standing in a lab looking area with expensive equipment and computers. The two then stared at each other in utter disbelief.

"Alfred what the hell is going on here?" Xander asked as he began to walk around the lab. Before Alfred could speak, Xander's eye's fell upon a black suit of armour in a glass display case. Getting a closer look he saw the symbol of a bat on the chest of it and a helmet piece with long horns sticking out of it. "You've got to be kidding me." Xander said aloud as he whirled around to look at Alfred. "Bruce is Batman?" he asked.

But then it all started to make sense. All the nights Bruce would stay gone, claiming to be at business meetings. And especially all those times he had come home with unexplained brusies all over his body. Xander had alway's suspected that Batman was rich, because of all of the weapons and stuff that he had, but Batman being Bruce. Snapping out of his musings, he saw that Alfred took a seat by the computer console and began talking.

"As you know, Master Bruce was no older than you when his parents were murdered." Alfred started, getting Xander's full attention. "What you don't know is that it did something to him. Something in his mind had snapped that night. He went all around the world on a self destructive path, but he also learned and trained as a ninja, under a man named Ra's Al Ghul. After he returned to Gotham, he saw how corrupted it was and he decided to do something about it."

"But why didn't he tell me?" Xander asked, feeling a little hurt. "Why want he let me help."

"Because he loves you." Alfred replied with a smile. "He thinks of you as a son and he only wants the best for you. By letting you join him in this fight, would be like letting you surrender into the darkness that he is in. A darkness that he himself can't escape."

"But why has he been training me?" Xander asked. "All those martial arts lessons, the acrobatics...why."

"What else is a father to do with a son, but teach him what he knows?" Alfred asked. " I never told anyone this, but before I became a butler to the Wayne family, I used to work as a detective for a secret organization in London. So when Master Bruce's father died, I took it upon myself to teach him my detective skills."

"I need to get out for awhile." Xander said after taking in all of what Alfred had told him.

"Of course." Alfred said as he stood up from his seat. "I'm sure Master Bruce wouldn't mind if you took one of his cars." Alfred told him.

"That's just what I was thinking." Xander said with a mischevious grin as he looked over and into the massive cave and saw a domed sleek, black, and powerful vehicle.

fifteen minutes later

Wayne Enterprises

A powerfully built white man with dark hair and liquid brown eyes, probably in his early thirties sat at his desk and listened too one of his employees drone on about one of his projects. He let out a sigh of relief though, as his private line beeped.

"We'll talk more about this later, Lindsey." Bruce said to the man hurriedly. Getting the message the exec took his breifcase and walked out of the room.

"Yes Alfred." Bruce said as he pushed a button and a small monitor popped out of his desk.

"Sorry to bother you, sir." alfred said as his face appeared on the monitor. " I have some rather distressing news about Master Alexander."

"Is he all right?" Bruce asked with alot of concern in his voice.

"I'm afraid Master Alexander has... gone traveling."

"He ran away?" he asked, wondering if maybe Xander had felt lonely because he was never around.

"Actually, he took the car."

"He boosted the Jag?" Bruce asked in relief "Is that all?"

"Not the Jaguar. The other car." Alfred said hoping that he would get the hint.

"The Rolls?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, sir. The other car!" A beat. Then Bruce closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Finally after nine years Xander had found out his little secret.

"Thanks for the info, Alfred. I'll be right there." Bruce said as he fell deeper into his leather chair. "Capsule." Suddenly the chair seat dropped, fast, sliding into a transport capsule, that opened up in the wall behind him. The capsule shot through an underground tunnel, lights whipping past at near super-sonic speed. Speed and time readouts appear on the windscreen beside the craggy face of Alfred Pennyworth. "Alfred..."

"I already have his location pin-pointed, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred.

Arkham Square

The sleazy part of town

'Ah the Gotham night life. Neon, traffic, and sleaze.' Xander thought to himself as the Batmobile cruised into the center of the strip. A group of flashy low riders then pulled in front of the Batmobile. They hydraulic up and down competitively. Hitting a few buttons the Batmobile wipers sweep the windshield. The bat-foil opened and closed. But, finally pushing the right button the car hydraulics higher and faster, but a bit wildly, Xander was barely in control. The low riders, put to shame, peeled out.

"Suckers." Xander said with a laugh. "This is the batmobile, baby." Suddenly a scream cut through the night.Then a teenaged girl suddenly ran for her life up ahead, chased by six gang members into a dark alley.

"Looks like the Dark Knight has work to do tonight." Xander said as the Batmobile peeled out after her.

The Batmobile screeched into the alley just as the thugs had the girl surrounded, pushing her back and forth between them like a rag doll. As they noticed the batmobile, the thugs suddenly tensed up. The door slide open and from the smoking hatchway emerged Xander dressed all in black. Needless to say, that got the Thugs' attention. They let go of the girl.

"Who the hell are you?" the leader of the gang yelled out to him.

"I'm Batman." Xander said in a low, ominous voice. Then he looked down at himself and back at the thugs with a lopsided grin. "Damn, did I forget to dress again?"

The thugs growled and then close in on him. One rushed Xander while another swung a chain at his head. That proved to be a big mistake.

"Chains?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's so passe'." Xander's quipped as his hand shot out fast, grabbing the chain. He open palmed the thug in the chin, then whipped the chain into the gut of the other big guy .

"The Caped Crusader strikes again. Sans cape, of course." Xander said with a shrug. Two more rush him. Xander leaped up with a viscious flying front kick, knocking one down, then hitting another on the return with a spinning back fist. Xander then stared at the still concious thug and smiled.

"Is your will up to date?" Xander asked the last Thug, who looked like he was about to piss his pants. He then took a look at Xander and what he had done and took off running. "I could definitely get behind this super hero gig." Xander said as he nodded to the awestruck girl. "Ma'am." He said as he started towards the car.

"Wait!" the girl called out as she moved close to him. "You forgot the part where you kiss the girl."

"Right." Xander replied, putting on his full Wayne family charm. As he leaned in, happy to oblige they suddenly heard screams and shouts as the thug who got away came racing back into the alley, followed by maybe thirty new gang members, all wielding bats and chains.

"Uh-oh." Xander muttered under his breath as he pulled the girl behind him, getting hyped up for war. Suddenly a dark figure flew out of the night. Batman, on a wire, swung into the group, sending them scattering in all directions. The bad guys race off. Even the girl Xander saved.

The Batmobile revved up and raced to Batman as he fixed Xander with a glare.

"Hi dad." Xander said with a little squeak in his voice. Batman just growled and lifted him by his collar and dropped him into the passenger seat. Surveying the scene again, he hopped into the other side.

Batcave

"What the hell were you doing out there?" Bruce growled as he took off his mask and threw it forcibly to the floor. "You could have been killed."

"Says the man who wears a rubber suit." Xander shot back at him. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

"Never." Bruce said calming down a bit. "What I do down here isn't your concern."

"Not my concern!" Xander shouted. "I have nightmares almost everynight of the person that killed my family. You have the perfect setup for me to have my revenge and you say it's not my concern?"

"What I do isn't about revenge." Bruce said sadly. Xander glanced over his shoulder at a framed headline. The Wayne murders.

"Right, Bruce. Whatever you say." Xander said nonchalantly. Bruce then grabbed him hard and pinned him against a wall.

"This isn't a game." Bruce said lowly. Xander then pushed him off, harder.

"Back off, man."

"You don't understand. It's an addiction." Bruce tried to reason. "You fight night after night, trying to fill the emptiness. But the pain's back in the morning. And somewhere along the way it stops being a choice. I want better for you." Bruce said after a beat.

"Save the sermons about how great you want my life to be, okay, Bruce? You don't get it, do you? This is all your fault. If you had gotten to that alley just a little sooner you could have saved my parents." Xander said in a huff as he stormed out. Bruce just stared after him with tired eyes.

* * *

"I can't fucking believe this." Xander raged as he threw some clothes into a gym bag. "I waited all my life to get revenge on the person who took my life away from me and Bruce..." suddenly there was a light knock on the door, interrupting Xander's thoughts.

"Go away!" Xander shouted as tears stung his eyes. Instead the door opened and Alfred walked into the room.

"Are you going somewhere, young Master?" Alfred asked, once he saw Xander's bags.

"Yeah, I'm getting out of here." Xander said not meeting his gaze.

"Where are you going?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know, just anywhere but here."

"I know that you and Master Bruce have problems but you have to believe that he cares deeply for you. But I want you to have this then, should you still decide to leave." Alfred said as he threw a manilla colored folder on his bed.

"What is this?" Xander asked as he eyed the folder skeptically.

"It's something very important to you." Alfred replied cryptically. Xander looked at him nervously and then just picked up the folder and looked into it. Once he did it fell numbly out of his hands as he saw a black and white picture of the man who had killed his parents.

"His name is William the Bloody." Alfred answered his unasked question. "After we took you in, Master Bruce spent almost a year trying to track him down, but to no avail. We did find out some other things however, like the fact that demons and vampires are real. That man in the photograph, just happens to be the latter." Alfred informed him.

"Why haven't you guys told me this before?" Xander asked, finally getting a hold of himself.

"Because..." Alfred started with a sigh. "Master Bruce didn't want you to get involved in the nightlife. As I know he told you, he only wants the best for you."

"That's the problem, Al." Xander said finally meeting his gaze. "I'm already in this fight. Now tell me something, where is this guy?"

"We don't know." the wise old butler replied honestly. "The last known place we could recall that he was in is the place of your birth. Sunnydale California."

"Then I have to go there, Alfred. I have to go there and kill him." Xander said as he unclenched the fist that he was unaware that he had made. "That's the only way for my nightmares to be over."

"As you wish, Master Alexander. I'll call the board of education tomorrow and inform them that you want be returning to Gotham private school, after the summer. I'll tell them that you will be relocating to Sunnydale." Alfred said as he walked back to the door.

"There is however the fact that you are not of legal age to move out on your own yet. You'll have to get written permission from Master Bruce in order to make the move to Calfornia. I'm sure that he'll sign it for you though." he said as he walked out of the door. Before he closed it, Xander called out to him.

"Hey, Alfred!" Xander yelled.

"Yes, sir?" he said as he popped his head back into the room.

"Thank you." Xander told him. Alfred just nodded his head and closed the door.

Once he was alone, Xander picked the picture of Spike up off of the floor and stared at it for a few seconds. "Alright, William the Bloody, you had better get ready for me." he said to himself as he balled up the photo and threw it in the trash can.

New york

Sametime, in a crypt

A beautiful dark haired woman, layed in bed asleep with a man wearing all black and blonde hair laying beside her.

"My kitten has found his darkness." Drusilla said in her sleep. "Don't worry, mommy will make it better."

A/N this is before season one of Buffy starts so, Dru and Spike aren't in Sunnydale yet.

TBC...

Please Review


	3. Chapter 2 Darkness on the Hellmouth

A/N Part of this is from the screenplay The Batman by Tom Mankiewicz. Those familiar with his work will know the part I'm talking about. Also this takes place a day before the episode Welcome to the Hellmouth.

Chapter 2

Darkness comes to the Hellmouth

It had been a full week, since Xander had his blowout with Bruce. He didn't know whether Bruce was mad at him or just busy, because Bruce hadn't spoke to him since that night. School was about to start in another few day's and just like Alfred promised, Bruce had signed the papers saying that he could move out on his own. Alfred had also told him that he had taken the liberty of purchasing a mansion for him as well in Sunnydale.

As Xander packed the last of his clothes into his suitcase, he suddenly heard someone knocking on his door. Before he could tell whoever it was to come in, the door opened and Alfred walked into the room with a large box in his hands.

"Hello, Master Alexander." Alfred greeted as he walked up to him.

"Hey, Al." Xander greeted back with a raised eyebrow. "What's up with the box?"

"Oh," Alfred started with a genuine smile. "this is a going away present for you." he said as he handed him the big black box. "But, you must promise me that you want open it until you...get into trouble." the older man said with a smile at Xander's confused look.

"Okay." Xander said as he gave Alfred a suspicious look. 'And damn this box is heavy.' Xander thought to himself as he layed the box on his bed. "Oh and Alfred where's Bruce?"

"I'm afraid Master Bruce has urgent business to attend too." Alfred informed him as he looked out of the window. Following his line of vision, Xander saw the batsignal light up the nightsky.

"Oh." was all Xander could manage to say. He had said some hurtful things to Bruce and he wanted to tell him that he was sorry. Sensing his downcast mood, Alfred patted him on the hand.

"Don't worry, Master Alexander, Master Bruce knows that you didn't mean what you said to him. Trust me he would never hold a grudge against you." Alfred informed him with an almost paternal speech. "Now come along, I'll take you to the airport so you can board the private jet." Alfred told him as he grabbed Xander's luggage and walked to the door.

"Alfred." Xander called out to the older man, making him stop at the door. "Thanks for everything." Xander told him. All these years Alfred had been like a father to him. Giving him advice and keeping him level headed, especially when Bruce wasn't around.

"You're quite, welcome." Alfred said with a smile as he readjusted the suitcases. "Now come along, the jet is waiting." with that, Xander grabbed the heavy black box, Alfred had given him, off of his bed and followed behind the older man.

The next day

Sunnydale CA, Wayne Manor

Night

Xander wasn't a bit surprised when tons of tabloid and news reporters, were on the grounds of his new home, when he first arrived in Sunnydale. What did surprise him however was the property itself. It was a beautiful, sprawling suburban estate. Classic wrought-iron gates protected a winding driveway which snaked its way up through a neatly manicured lawn. Alfred even had everything set up for him, when he got there. All he had to do was unpack the things he had brought with him.

Happy that it was night time, and that the reporters were gone, he decided to take a walk. He knew that Sunnydale was a dangerous place, especially at night, but he was fully confident that he could protect himself. But just as a safety precaution, he widdled a stake and carried a small cross with him.

As he took his walk, the first thing he noticed was how small Sunnydale was compared to Gotham. Everything just looked so homely and quaint. He had to hide a sad smile though as he saw people playing with their children and having a good time. Even though Xander couldn't remember much of his past, he remembered a red headed little girl and a brunette boy. He remembered them laughing and always having a good time.

Suddenly the rumble of thunder snapped him out of his reverie. It started with just a few sprinkles and then it came down in thick sheets of rain. Xander watched fascinated as people scurried to avoid the rain. Even though he hiked up the collar of his raincoat, he loved the rain. Strangely the way the water hit his skin seemed to sooth him. Listening to the steady drumbeat the rain seemed to be producing, something seemed wrong.

Observing his surroundings, like Bruce had taught him, Xander looked down the block, across the street. His eyes fell on a couple with a young daughter, of whom, looked over nervously at a tough-looking biker on a huge Harley-Davidson, that rolled up parallel to them on the street. Suddenly the biker hopped the curb in front of the family, pulling a gun, he herded them back into a dark alleyway.

Eyes narrowing, Xander's jaw started to twitch. He didn't know what to do. Before he could continue his mental debate a gunshot rung out. His decision made for him Xander exploded across the street heading for the alleyway. As Xander arrived the young girl burst out screaming and ran past him. Xander hesitated for a moment and then ran inside the alley.

The father layed sprawled in the alley, being cradled by his wife. Blood just started to ooze from the side of his head, as Xander quickly approached them.

"I...think he'll be all right." the woman said nervously as she looked up at him. "Our daughter's run to call an ambulance." As soon as the words left her mouth they all heard the revving of a motorcycle.

Xander looked off down the alley, eyes flashing with anger. The Biker grinned at him from the far end of the alley, put his Harley in gear, and rolled off through the pouring rain. With clenched fists Xander, takes off in pursuit.

The biker hovered by the side of an apartment building, still grinning at Xander through the rain. He rolled forward slowly, almost as if enticing Xander to follow him, then he disappeared again.

Still running Xander arrived at the rear of the building, which faced on a vacant dirt lot. He edged forward through the mud, turning the corner, suddenly coming face to face with the Biker, still grinning,as he switched off his Harley. Muscles bulged through his wet T-shirt as he dismounted.

"Congratulations, man." the biker said with a wide smile. "You caught me. Matter of fact..." The roar of engines was then heard! With a sneer Xander turned to see two more bikers, rolling into position behind him. Xander was hopelessly trapped."...you caught all of us..." The other two Bikers then dismounted their bikes and closed in.

The first Biker drew his gun, while the other Biker looked Xander up and down critically, squinting at him through the rain.

"That's my raincoat you're wearing." the second biker informed Xander. "Take it off." He said as he snapped his arm forward and a switchblade appeared in his hand. He flicked it at Xander who stood his ground, slicing a button off the front of his raincoat. "Pick up the button, Wimpy. Then lick it clean and hand me my coat."

Xander stared icily, then slowly bent down to retrieve the button from the mud. Suddenly the first bikers foot flashed up, headed straight at Xander's face! In a lightning-quick move, Xander grabbed the swinging leg with both hands, rose up, then swung him off the ground in a circle, sending him to crash into the motorcycles as his gun went flying.

The second biker, switchblade in hand, rushed Xander, as the third goon unhooked chains from his belt. Xander sidestepped, as the knife slashed through his raincoat, sending it billowing out behind him like a cape. The third biker whistled the chains past Xander's ear, as he snatched them, karate-kicks the biker in the stomach, simultaneously belting the other thug across the side of the head with the chains, knocking him unconscious. Enraged the third man lunged at Xander from behind. Sensing the attack coming Xander spun, grabbing his arm, twisting the knife away, catching it in his other hand as he tripped him, sending him sprawling in the mud. Xander then straddled him, with the knife in hand. The biker blinked in fear, as his head was pressed into the mud next to the button.

"Your turn to pick up the button, jackass... " Xander said lowly. Scared shitless the bikers arm slowly started forward as Xander stepped on it. "With your mouth." he said causing the older man too shut his eyes in humiliation as the sound of a siren was heard.

Five minutes later

A paramedic van was parked at the mouth of the alley, as umbrella-holding onlookers watch. A gurney with the wounded man was then wheeled out, as his wife and daughter followed. Xander then appeared at the edge of the crowd, collar still up, hat adjusted low over his face, as he watched the scene unfold. The Paramedics then suddenly stopped, one leaned down, examined the man, then covered his face with the sheet. The now widow of the man that died turned away in silence, as her daughter clung to her.Xander watched, his eyes filled with tears and then turned and walked off.

Wayne Manor

Xander entered the empty living room, with a numb expression on his face. With tears freely falling from his eyes he pitched forward and started to vomit. For maybe minutes or for what Xander thought hours, he just sat there on the floor rocking back and forth.

'I failed. I failed that family, just like I failed my parents.' he thought to himself over and over. The guilt he felt, when he saw the look on that little girls face, was almost heartbreaking. He imagined that he looked just like that when he lost his parents.

Pausing, lost in thought, Xander thought about something Alfred had told him. Then, moving as if by instinct, he headed for the stairs leading to his bedroom. Once he got there he closed the door and immediately went to the black box that Alfred had given him.

Opening it up his eye's widened and the chant 'Oh shit, oh shit.' popped into his head, as he saw that it was the Batsuit inside (including the cape and cowl). Placing the box on the bed he took out the rubber suit and found that all kinds of gadgets were under it. There were Batarangs, gas pellets, and all kinds of weapons. But one in particular caught his eye though. It was a small black cellphone looking object. Flipping up the top, the screen on it was filled with static for a few minutes until Alfred Pennyworth's smiling face appeared on screen.

"Hello, Master Alexander." Alfred greeted cheerfully. "I see that you've gotten into trouble already."

"Yeah." Xander said with a downcast expression as he sat on his bed.

"Are you alright, young sir?" the old butler asked. "You look terrible."

"You really know how to make me feel better." Xander replied with a forced smile.

"Seriously, sir. You look rather ill."

"It's just that..." he stopped himself before he told him what happened earlier. "How does Bruce deal with this?" he asked, changing the subject some.

"One day at a time my, boy. One day at a time" Alfred said with a sigh. "I guess you're wondering why I packed a batsuit for you?"

"The thought did cross my mind." Xander said as he eyed said suit.

"As we discussed before you left, Sunnydale is much like Gotham is as far as crime goes. In Sunnydale more than three people die each night."

"Yeah, I know." Xander muttered. 'All I did was to make sure that only one died tonight.' he thought bitterly to himself. 'If only I had been there a moment sooner.'

"Nevertheless..." Alfred interrupted. "Sunnydale doesn't have anyone to protect it. Master Bruce told me years ago that he wanted to come too Sunnydale to help with the crime situation, but with people like Two Face and the Joker, you can imagine that he can't leave Gotham. And as twisted as this might sound, I believe that it was your destiny to...leave Sunnydale and come with us."

"What do you mean?" Xander asked as he sat back in his bed.

"I mean that isn't it a little ironic, that you would live and be taught by me and Master Bruce, only to come back to your place of birth years later? I saw the same fire in you as a boy, that I saw in Master Bruce, when he lost his parents. That look of cold rage, was almost overwhelming. That's why I helped to surpress that anger and to help mold you by keeping your mind focused on other things."

"Like sending me off to learn different styles of combat, acrobatics, and you teaching me mystery solving?" Xander asked getting his point.

"Exactly. Even though Master Bruce didn't want you to fall in his footsteps, he still inadvertantly taught you some of the skills that he had learned over the years. That's why, you should be Batman. The creatures of Sunnydale have nothing to fear and that gives them the power to feel that they can do whatever they please. Sunnydale needs a symbol. Something to tell them, that they themselves should fear the night."

"Like, Batman." Xander concluded, only for Alfred to give him a smile. "But I don't think I'm ready for this. What does Bruce have to say about this anyhow?"

"Actually, he knows nothing about it." Alfred informed him. "As for being ready I have full confidence in your abilities. But keep in mind that this isn't a game. What you do and decide could affect many lives for the good or the bad. It could even get you or others hurt or...worse. But if you feel that you're not ready yet, then please don't put on that suit."

"I understand." Xander said seriously.

"Good, now get some sleep." Alfred told him, in a fatherly tone. "Oh and before I forget. If you change your mind, as to whether you want to become a dark knight, there's a warehouse, under your name on it in downtown Sunnydale. I took the liberty of purchasing it for you, and it houses some...special toys for use as your time as Batman."

"Okay." Xander said giving him a look. Till this day he still didn't know how Alfred seemed to plan things ahead of time. One of these days he was going to sit down and have a talk with him about that.

"Well then, Goodnight Master Alexander."

"Goodnight, Alfred...and thanks." he said as he clicked off the monitor/cellphone. Getting up out of his bed, Xander dropped the cellphone and stared at his batsuit. He knew what Alfred had told him was pure fact, and thats what made his decision an easy one. He was going to become the Batman. "I have to practice though." he muttered to himself as he picked up a batarang.

He knew he was going to be tired when he got to school in the morning, but he could put up with it for what he had to do at night. Little did he know but another stalker of the night, had also arrived in Sunnydale that day.

TBC...

Please Review


	4. Chapter 3 The Slayer & the Knight pt1

A/N Thanks for the great reviews.

Chapter 3

The Slayer and the Knight pt.1

Xander faced the towering school and let out a deep breath. For some reason he felt particularly nervous that morning. He didn't know whether it was from starting a new school or from the possibility of finding out about his past. He was relieved, that the news paper reporters believed that he was just passing through Sunnydale and not staying. If they found out, they would just make his life a living hell.

Not really paying attention to where he was going, he scanned the crowd of students walking by him, to see if he recognized any of them and he bumped into somebody.

"Sorry." Xander blurted as he helped whoever it was to their feet. Then brown eyes met green ones. Xander was looking at the most beautiful blonde he had ever seen. And that was saying alot because he had dated plenty of blondes.

"No it was totally my fault." the girl said back as she brushed off her clothes.

"Um...Xander."

"Buffy." Buffy greeted back as they shook hands.

"Buffy?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow. 'What kind of parents name their children that?' Xander thought to himself.

"Yeah, Xander." Buffy said back getting defensive. She hated people making fun of her nickname, almost more than she hated her real name, Elizabeth. 'And who is he to talk?' Buffy thought to herself. 'Especially with a name like, Xander.'

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Xander said sincerely. "I've just never heard a name like Buffy before and with a name like Xander...I really shouldn't talk." he said with a shrug. "Now let's start over. Hi, my name is Xander." he said with a grin.

"Buffy." Buffy said with a grin of her own as she shook his hand again.

"So since we're such good buddies now." Xander said as he looped an arm around her slender shoulders. "Do you mind showing me around the school. I'm new to Sunnydale...well sort of, and I really could use a guide."

"Actually, I'm new myself." Buffy said, happy that she had made a new friend. After what she had did at Hemery High, she didn't think she would make any friends. 'But these people don't know about you, Buffy.' her self concious voice spoke to her. 'You have a new start here. A new beginning without you having too be the Slayer.'

"Are you, okay?" Xander asked giving her a questionable look. "It looks like you spaced out there?"

"Yeah." Buffy replied coming out of her daze. "I was just thinking about some...stuff. Now what did you say to me."

"I asked where are you from?" Xander asked again.

"Oh, um...I'm from LA. So where are you from?"

"Gotham." he replied as he looked up to the early morning sun. 'Gotham was never this bright, it was always so dark and gloomy.'

"Cool, Gotham City...hey do you know Bruce Wayne?"

"We've met from time to time." Xander said not wanting to give to much away.

"Well it was nice talking to you." Buffy said as she started to walk off. "But, I have to find the principal and get my class schedules. Maybe we could hook up later?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Xander said as Buffy ran off. As he was about to walk off, his foot hit something. Looking down he saw that it was... "A stake?" he muttered as he flipped it around in his hands. Glancing up, through the sea of students, he saw the retreating form of Buffy and smiled. "Maybe, there's more to you yet, Buffy." and with that he put the stake in his backpack and walked towards the Sunnydale High entrance.

* * *

"So what do you girls think of, Buffy." a very beautiful and curvacious brunette asked her group of sheep, in front of the Sunnydale High entrance. They had just met Buffy and she thought that the girl would make an excellent Cordette. She had the right fashion sense and she was from LA, so that was a plus.

"I'd rather talk about something else, Cordelia." Harmony said as she walked up. "You guys will never guess what I just heard. My mom told me last night that Bruce Wayne's son, Alexander Wayne has just moved to Sunnydale."

"You've gotta, be kidding me." Cordelia said as her sheep started to whisper to themselves. "Why would a boy from one of the richest families in the world, want to move here?"

"But it's true." Harmony interjected. "My mom, sold him the mansion that he lives in now." and it wierded her out a little bit, once she heard where the mansion was. It was basically on the outskirts of town, in a very creepy location.

"Excuse me ladies." a voice said behind them, instantly making the Cordettes stop gossiping. Turning around they saw a handsome boy, with a goofy grin wearing all black. Just by looking at him, Cordelia already decided that he wasn't important, but for some reason it was like she should have remembered him from somewhere. "I'm new here so could one of you point me in the direction of the principals office?"

"Do we look like losers, loser?" Cordelia asked. "Just go inside and if you're lucky somebody will help you." suddenly the entrance door opened and Buffy popped her head out.

"Oh, hey Xander." Buffy greeted when she spotted him. "Principal Flutie, told me to come and find you. And I didn't know that your last name was Wayne. What are the chances that you would have the same last name as Bruce Wayne and come from Gotham City, huh?"

"Yeah, that's just convenient." Xander said as he walked past the stunned Cordelia and her sheep. Without so much as another word, he walked into the school and dissappeared with Buffy.

"Damn!" Cordelia shrieked as he got out of hearing range, as the other girls started to gossip about Cordelia messing up her chances. 'He's supposed to be wearing suits or expensive clothes, not jeans and a T-shirt.' Cordelia thought to herself. "Harmony, call your mom on her cellphone." Cordy told the other girl. "I want you to ask her for his home address."

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Buffy asked as they walked towards, the principals office. Xander just had a troubled look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Xander lied. He hated those stuck up bitch types. Always thinking they were superior to everyone else. "Oh and um...you dropped this." he said as he reached into his backpack and handed over, her stake.

"Thanks, um... this is just the lastest form of protection in LA." Buffy hurried to explain. "It's the newest craze."

"I'm sure it is." Xander said giving her a look. "I guess this is my stop." he said as he spotted the principals office. "I'll see you later."

"Sure, I have to go to the library today anyway." she told him, then walked off.

With a sigh, Xander entered the Principals office.

Later that day

The Quad

A mousy, but beautiful redhead sat on a bench, in front of a wall taking out her lunch. Even though she was a teenager now, she still enjoyed her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As she started into her lunch Buffy approached her.

"Uh, Hi!" Buffy spoke loudly, but nervously. "Willow, right?"

"Why? I-I mean, hi!" Willow replied as she looked up. "Uh, did you want me to move?"

"Why don't we start with, 'Hi, I'm Buffy,' and, uh, then let's segue directly into me asking you for a favor." she said as she sat next to her. "It doesn't involve moving, but it does involve hanging out with me for a while."

"But aren't you hanging out with Cordelia?" Willow asked dumbfounded.

"I can't do both?"

"Not legally." Willow muttered under her breath.

"Look," Buffy started as she let out an even breath. "I really wanna get by here, new school, and... Cordelia's been really nice... to me... anyway, but, um, I kinda have this burning desire not to flunk all my classes, and I heard a rumor that you were the person to talk to if I wanted to get caught up."

"Oh, I could totally help you out!" Willow said excitedly. "Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library?"

"Or not." Buffy replied quickly. "Or we could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kinda gives me the wiggins."

"Oh, it has that effect on most kids. I love it, though, it's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool."

"He's new?" Buffy asked weary of the man now.

"Yeah, he just started. He was a curator at some British museum, or, or The British Museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies, and am I the single dullest person alive?" Willow said, thinking how boring her life was.

"Not at all." Buffy said as Xander hopped up onto the wall behind the girls and sat on it between them.

"Hey, Xand." Buffy said with a smile. 'At least there seems to be one normal person at this school.' Buffy thought to herself.

"Hey, Buff." Xander greeted back as he looked over at Willow. Something about the cute red head just seemed so familiar. Like he was supposed to remember her. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

"Yeah, Willow...Xander, Xander, Willow." Buffy properly introduced the two.

"Did you say, Xander?" Willow asked. She too felt as though she was supposed to remember the boy. Those brown eyes and his grin just seemed so familiar.

"Yeah, it's short for..."

"Hey guys." a voice called, interrupting Xander. "What's up."

"Oh, hey Jesse." Willow said as she looked back at him. "Guy's this is my best friend Jesse. Jesse, this is Buffy, and... and Xander."

"Xander?" Jesse asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah." Xander said confused. "Why does everybody keep saying my name?" he asked. 'It's not that wierd.' Before anybody could reply Cordelia walked over to them.

"Hey, Buffy I have to tell..." then she looked over and saw Xander. "Oh, hey Xand. Listen I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier."

"That's a first." Jesse said as he sat on the other side of Willow. "I never thought, I would see the day when Queen C would apologize."

"Oh, shut up dweeb!" Cordelia snapped.

"Cordelia." Buffy called the girls name to get her attention. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, right." Cordelia said, getting her thoughts together. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was canceled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"What are you talking about?" Willow spoke up.

"Some guy was stuffed in Aura's locker." Cordelia told them as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Dead?" Buffy asked.

"Totally dead. Way dead." Cordelia went on.

"It's not just a little dead, then?" Jesse quipped.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Cordelia asked with a glare. "Hey where did Xander go?" she asked as she took a look around. The others also looked around and didn't see him in sight.

That was when, Willow spotted something golden on the ground. Picking it up, she opened it to find a picture of herself, Jesse, and their friend (at the age of seven) that they had thought died years ago named...

"Xander." Willow whispered to herself as she closed the locket.

Girls locker room

Xander stepped over the yellow police tape and scanned the locker room. Spotting the body, wrapped up in a sheet, he pulled it back and examined the body, of the teenaged boy. After seeing the vampire bite, he opened the corpses mouth and didn't see any blood.

'Hmmm...' he thought to himself. 'I should go to the library and check out a book on vampirism.' and with that he closed the boys mouth, put the sheet back over him, and quietly walked out of the locker room.

A few minutes later

Xander was in the stacks checking out some books on Vampires and other demons. For some reason they had volume upon volume of occult books. Picking up another book, he stopped as he listened to someone shouting. The voice distinctively sounded like Buffy's.

After listening to Buffy whine too the new librarian, Giles, he made a mental note to find out what a Slayer and a Watcher was. Not hearing their voices anymore, he took the book he needed and silently slipped out of a window.

Later that day

The Quad

"Yes, Master Alexander." Alfred said into his cellphone/monitor.

"Alfred, it's started." Xander said as he pitched his voice low. "One boy is already dead and...and there's just something wierd about this school."

"How so?" Alfred asked.

"I...I don't know. It's it's like theres something evil about this place. I can feel it everywhere." Xander said confused.

"I'll look into it for you, sir." Alfred informed him. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, see if you can do some background work on something called the Slayer and the Watcher's Council." Xander said causing Alfred to fidget, although Xander didn't see it. "Also see if you can get some info on a Rupert Giles and Buffy Summers."

"Yes, sir." Alfred said sternly. Without another word Alfred cut off communications.

"Hmm...wierd." Xander muttered to himself as he cut off his cellphone. Alfred always said goodbye, but just then he seemed so cold.

"Xander!" he heard someone yell out. Turning he saw that it was the red head he had met earlier and her goofy friend. For a moment when he had saw her, in his minds eye he saw the little red head girl in his dreams.

"Um...hey Willow right?" Xander asked as she ran up to him out of breath.

"Yeah, and this is Jesse." Willow said as she pointed behind herself. "Can...can we talk for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure what's up?"

"Well, um first of all you dropped this." she said as she handed him his locket. Xander's hand immediately went up to his neck and then he grabbed the locket from Willow.

"Thanks." Xander said relieved. He couldn't believe that he had dropped the locket and didn't notice it.

"I need to as...ask you something else." Willow started nervously. "Are you originally from Sunnydale?"

"Yeah." Xander said with a frown. "How did you know..."

"Because we think you're our old friend, Alexander Harris." Jesse blurted out, making Willow glare at him.

Then Xander stepped back a little and really looked at them. Closing his eyes he imagined their faces.

'Xander, Jesse...stop wrestling.'

'I don't have nobody.'

'Stop being wierd, Willow.'

'Yeah, stop being wierd Willow.'

"Willow." Xander said as he snapped his eyes open and pulled her into a hug. Startled, Willow leaned into his embrace. After a few seconds she felt another pair of hands around her waist. Looking back she saw that, it was Jesse.

"Alright the Xandman's back." Jesse said happily. "Where have you been man? The rumour around the school is that Bruce Wayne raised you."

Before Xander could answer his cellphone started to ring. Taking it out of his pocket, he read the number off of it and saw that it was Alfred.

"I have to go." Xander said as he backed up some.

"But we're just meeting up again." Jesse said.

"Yeah, Xander don't go." Willow said with a frown.

"We'll meet up again real soon." Xander said as flipped the phone open.

"What about tonight then." Jesse replied, thinking of where they could go. "You can meet us at the Bronze."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." Xander said as he ran off.

"Don't you need directions!" Willow yelled after him.

"I'll find my way." Xander said as he dissappeared into the parking lot.

"Okay, that was just wierd." Jesse commented, only for Willow to slap his arm. "Ow, well he was acting wierd." he said as he rubbed at his now sore arm.

"It doesn't matter." Willow told him seriously. "Xander's back. Now come on." she said as she grabbed his arm and led him in the opposite direction of their old friend.

"Alfred this had better be good." Xander said into his cellphone. He had finally met his friends again and he had been interrupted.

"Yes sir, I have some of the information that you requested." Alfred informed him. "I'm sending it to you now." he said as the face of Alfred was replaced with aLCD readout.

Outside of the Bronze

Even though Xander drove his convertible to the Bronze, he still watched the shadows as if someone were following him. He still couldn't believe what he had found out about Buffy. Xander found her to be beautiful, but a mystical warrior, he found to be hard to believe. She was just so tiny and didn't have any muscles.

But he learned a long time ago never to judge a book by it's cover. Walking up to the entrance of the club, the girl in question suddenly crashed into him.

"Oh, Xander I'm sorry...have you seen Willow?" Buffy asked as she looked at him worriedly.

"No, why?" Xander asked.

"Um, somebody bad has her. If we don't get to her now, she could die."

"Just tell me what's going on."

"I don't have time." Buffy said as she started to look around. "Please just help me find her."

"Alright." Xander said as he put his hand on her shoulder, while at the same time putting a bat-tracer on her back. "You go this way and I'll go that way." Xander said pointing in opposite directions. Waiting until Buffy ran off, Xander turned around and ran for his car. For the night was going to be his first trial as the Batman.

The warehouse Alfred told Xander about was only a block away. When he had first walked inside, he thought he was in the wrong place. The warehouse was completely empty, or so he thought. When he walked inside all he saw were these wierd red symbols on the wall. But on closer inspection, he saw a simple black button on the far wall and pushed it.

When he did, the floor under his feet opened up and he fell into some kind of capsule. At almost supersonic levels, he traveled through the Sunnydale sewer system. Emerging on the other side the capsule opened up and Xander looked out to a almost pitch black room.

"Man that was a hell of a ride." Xander said as he stepped out of the capsule and took a look around. 'I don't have time for this.' Xander thought to himself. 'I have to save Willow.'

Ignoring the expensive looking equipment in the cavernous room, he ran to the back of the room where he saw a large glass case. Looking inside of it, he saw the Batman suit.

"Damn." Batman said annoyed after he stepped out of the armor room, donning his Batsuit. "I'm never going to get to Willow in time."

"Then might I suggest using the car." Alfred's voice filled the cave. Looking around Xander saw Alfred on a huge computer screen monitor.

"That's just the problem Al." Batman said as he walked up to the computer screen. "Even if I can get back up to my car in time, I'll never be able to get to Willow."

"I wasn't referring to that car." Alfred said as spotlights cut on in the room. "I was talking about that one." Alfred said making Xander turn around. And when he did, the car if that's what you wanted to call it, blew his breath away.

It most definately wasn't the batmobile, it looked more like a tank. It had heavier looking armour than the batmobile and had huge tires in the back, like it was meant for a mac truck. And the car/tank looked like it had been altered a little. It looked as if it could fit four people instead of two.

"That young, sir." Alfred said interrupting Xander's thoughts. "Is called the Tumbler. It was Master Bruce's first car."

"No time to explain the rest." Xander told him as he ran to the Tumbler and jumped inside. With an audible whoosh the domed top closed, as he started the car up. Looking ahead of himself, an LCD readout of Buffy's location showed up on a paneled computer.

"Hold tight, Buff." Batman muttered to himself. "I'm on the way." As soon as those words left his mouth the artificial cavern wall ahead of him opened up. "Here goes nothing." he said as he tapped his foot on the gas petal. With enough kick to give him whiplash, the Tumbler bucked and flew out of the Batcave.

The city seemed nothing, but a blur as Batman navigated inside of his car. Glancing down at the readout he saw that it was leading him to a cemetery. Arriving at his destination, the Tumbler roared to a halt at the entrance of the Restfield cemetery. Jumping out of it, Batman was immediately greeted with a scream. Moving with speed, that the Gods themselves would be envious of, Batman ran in the direction of the disturbance.

* * *

Willow always knew that Sunnydale was strange but this was downright spooky. She thought her day was going fairly good, because she had met up with an old friend and Buffy had talked her into talking to a guy. A real guy.

But that's when all the trouble started. The boy, Thomas is what he called himself, had led her into a crypt, at the local cemetery. After she tried to leave, because of him acting mean, she had bumped into Jesse and a pretty blonde. At least she was pretty until her face changed. When she turned around, that's when she saw that Thomas's face had changed too.

She was happy though when Buffy showed up and did something to Thomas to make him turn into dust, because it gave her enough time to get the injured Jesse and herself out of the crypt. But looking around herself, now at all of the vampires surrounding her, she thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have left Buffy's side.

"My aren't you a pretty one." one of the vampires said to Willow as he leered at her. Neither of them noticed a figure dropping inexplicably behind them. "I'll ask the Master if he'll let me turn you. We could be lovers forever." he said causing Willow to close her eyes. She could feel it in her gut that that thing was going to hurt her. However it was a pain that she would never feel.

Opening her eyes she saw the thing turning into dust. Startled, she looked up and saw an apparition as dark as the night itself. With her eyes adjusting to the darkness she saw that the thing had long black horns and wings...no a cape, Willow observed.

"It's the Batman." someone from the crowd of vampires yelled.

"Let's get out of here." she heard the one Thomas, called Darla say. Like a pack of wild dogs, the vampires ran for their unlives.

"Are you alright." came a voice, low and omnious. Willow had to look around again, because of the darkness to see who it was. Then her mind made her remember that the creature...no Batman was right in front of her.

"Y...yes." Willow managed to get out.

"Ah, man...that blonde gave me such a hickey." Jesse stammered out.

"Is your friend alright?" Batman asked as he gave them a look.

"Yeah, but...I think he's lost some blood."

"Get him to my car." Batman said as he looked over his shoulder, after hearing some fighting coming from a crypt. "I'll take him to the hospital."

"What car?" Willow asked as she turned to look for it in all directions. Then she heard a loud rumbling of a powerful engine. The heavy Tumbler sent rooster tails of expensive, manicured lawn high in the air, as it stopped inches from Willow. "Oh, that one." she said as she turned around only to find Batman gone.

* * *

'Damn this suit is hot.' Xander thought to himself as he stealthily ran inside the crypt. Once he did so he saw a hulking vampire, already in game face, standing over an opened coffin, rambling about something. Not giving it a chance to notice him, he reached into his utility belt and took out a specially made Batarang and threw it.

* * *

Buffy could only breathe heavily as Luke, or the Incredible Hulk as she liked to think of him as, threw her into a dark dirty coffin. Out of all of the vampires she had faced so far, he was by far the most powerful, as far as sheer strength.

And what made him more scary was that he was quoting scripture. 'Just shut up already.' Buffy's mind screamed at her to tell him. Just as he leaned in the coffin to grab her, he suddenly roared in pain. The sound of the wail, seemed to shake the very building.

Buffy then heard someone arguing, the brief sounds of a fight, and then the sound of a vampire dusting. Seeing that everything was quiet and plus she wanted to see what was going on, Buffy leaned up to peek out of the coffin. As soon as she did a menacing silhouette of a black demon, suddenly popped in over the coffin top, staring down at her.

Buffy then did something that every girl would do in a situation like that. She screamed.

TBC...

Please Review


	5. Chapter 4 The Slayer & the Knight pt2

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman or any BTVS characters. They all belong to their respective owners. This goes for all chapters.

Also thanks for all the great reviews, and to Mystiksnake, a special thanks to you for your review and I'm happy to get you back Layce74.

Chapter 4

The Slayer and Knight pt.2

Batman could have sworn that the hulk of a vampire heard the batarang as it flew through the air. At least he suspected as much, when the brute turned around to look at him. Not having enough time to dodge out of the way, the razor sharp weapon plunged through his right shoulder blade, making him howl.

"Batman." Luke growled out as he ripped the batarang out of his shoulder. Blood oozed out of the wound as he tossed the weapon, with a metallic clank, to the ground.

"My reputation proceeds me." Batman said still in attack position.

"As mine will when I kill you." Luke retorted as he ran towards Batman.

Feigning to the right, Batman dodged the attack and felt some sort of trigger in his arm guard. Clicking it a small stake popped out of a hidden wrist stake launcher. As soon as Luke turned back around, Batman ducked under a clumsy right and stabbed the stake through his unprotected chest.

"Looks like you need a bigger stake." Luke said with a grin as he looked down at the stake sticking in his chest. Picking up Batman by his neck, he let out a low growl and prepared to sink his fangs into his neck.

"No...I just need to push it in further." Batman wheezed out as he pushed the stake all the way into the vampires heart.

"A human." Luke said in shock and then crumbled into dust. Batman just watched in amazement as the big goon, was reduced to ash at his feet. Then suddenly remembering what the vamp was doing he walked over to the open coffin and peered inside. Seeing Buffy inside, he was about to ask if she needed any help until she screamed.

* * *

Seeing that the demon was reaching into the coffin to grab her, Buffy kicked up with her leg and hit it in the head, making it instantly stumble back. Jumping out of the coffin, Buffy immediately looked around and spotted the demon thing. It was tall, all black, and had wings and large horns sticking out of her head.

Buffy was scared stupid when she saw the imposing figure, but she stood in an attack position.

"Why did you hit me?" the thing asked Buffy, as it rubbed at it's jaw.

'It spoke, oh my God.' Buffy thought to herself. 'Okay girl play it cool.' "Because, I'm the Slayer and it's kind of my job to kill you." Buffy retorted. 'Then why the hell am I talking to it?' Buffy asked herself, as she made up her mind and charged him.

'Great she thinks I'm a demon.' Batman thought to himself as he saw the Slayer charging him. 'I don't have time for this, I have to get Jesse to the hospital before he dies.' Feeling around in his utility belt, he found what he was looking for.

'I'm sorry Buffy, I really am.' he thought to himself as he pulled out his taser. As soon as Buffy was close enough, he pulled the trigger. The vaults of electricity surged throughout her, making her body violently shake. After a few seconds, they died out and Buffy pitched forward unconcious on her feet. Scooping her up before she could hit the floor, Batman cradled her in his arms and ran for the door.

"What happened to Buffy?" Willow asked as Batman opened the Tumbler hatch and gently put the unconcious form of Buffy in the passenger seat.

"No time to explain." Batman replied guiltily as he jumped into the drivers seat. "Computer, pull up the map of Sunnydale, California."

"Scanning." a cool female voice responded. "Done, what is your destination?"

"The closet Sunnydale hospital." Once the computer displayed it on the map, he pushed a button to close the hatch and then the turbines kicked into life. Quickly putting on Buffy's seatbelt for her, the car bucked and sped off into the night.

The Master's cave

"So you mean to tell me that you didn't bring any sacrifices?" a tall, bald, and very ugly demon asked of his minions as he paced around in his cave.

"It wasn't our fault, Master." Darla groveled at his feet. "The Batman..."

"The Batman?" The Master asked cutting her off as he whirled around. Even though he had spent many years stuck in this cave, he had still heard of him. He had thought of him of nothing more than a myth, but now... "The Harvest is tomorrow night and now Luke..." he stopped for a moment to remember his faithful servant. He had sired him long ago and he felt that connection was gone, Luke must have been slayed. "My vessel is gone."

"I pledge my life to you, Master." Darla pleaded again. "I will be your vessel."

"And that..." The Master started as he sat down on a throne like chair. "...is exceptable."

Summer's Residence

Early morning

Light flooded Buffy's eye's as she tried to open them. Quickly closing them again she felt around herself and felt a very comfortable bed. Then the nights activities came to her like a ton of bricks. Opening her eyes again she saw that she was in her own room.

"What the..." Buffy said as she sat up and immediately winced as her hand shot up to the back of her head.

"Buffy! Mom said hurry up and get ready for school!" Dawn shouted out as she barged into the room. "What happened to you? You look terrible."

"I'll make you look terrible if you don't get out of my room." Buffy retorted as she stood up out of her bed. Instantly making Dawn run for the door.

"Mom, Buffy's threatning me again!" Dawn yelled as she ran down the hall.

"Buffy, what have I told you about threatning your little sister?" Came Joyce's voice as she yelled from the kitchen.

"Never to do it." Buffy replied as she walked to her closet to get ready. She had to find out what was going on.

"So how are you feeling honey?" Joyce asked as Buffy walked into the kitchen.

"Besides a headache, I'm fine." Buffy said as she again rubbed at the back of her head.

"What time did you get in last night?" Joyce asked as she handed her a plate. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"I...I..."

"Her boyfriend brought her home." Dawn said as she plopped down in a chair and put tons of syrup on her pancakes. "I saw him climbing in and out of Buffy's bedroom last night." 'Well I didn't see his face.' Dawn thought to herself. 'But whoever it was sure liked to wear alot of black.'

"Dawn, that's not a nice thing to say about your sister." Joyce repremanded. "You know Buffy wouldn't do a thing like that. Isn't that right Buffy? Buffy..." Joyce said as she looked around in the kitchen only to find, Buffy already gone.

Sunnydale High

Buffy walked up the school steps of the highschool and looked through the sea of highschool students in search of Willow. Hearing someone call her name, she turned around to see Jesse, with a gauze bandage on his neck and Willow walking up towards her.

"Buffy, we have to talk about last night." Willow said a little out of breath from her run.

"Yeah." replied. "Willow, after I saved you two from the crypt what happened?"

"We met, Batman." Jesse said a little too loudly, making several students look at them wierd and for Willow to glare at him. "Oops."

'So that's who that was.' Buffy thought to herself. 'Hey that son of a bitch shocked me.' she suddenly realized as she frowned.

"Let's go somewhere where we can talk freely." Willow suggested.

"Yeah, I know just the place." Buffy said with a sigh.

Sunnydale Library

"So you mean to tell me vampires are real?" Jesse asked at the end of Giles' long and very boring speech.

"Yes, Mr. McNally." Giles said as he took his glasses off to polish them. So much for the Slayer working in secrecy. "As well as other things that go bump in the night."

"And you're the slayer of these things?" Jesse asked.

"I am she." Buffy said with a grin.

"I need to sit down." Willow said nervously.

"You are sitting down." Buffy pointed out.

"Oh...good for me."

Suddenly the doors to the Library opened and in ran Xander.

"There you guys are." Xander said taking a look around. "I've been worried sick. What happened last night, Buffy said that you were in trouble Willow."

"Well, I was ...but you see... a little help guys?" Willow asked. Giles then looked at Buffy, at her nod he let out a sigh.

"Mr..."

"Wayne. Xander Wayne." Xander introduced himself.

"Very well, Mr. Wayne please have a seat. We have much to discuss."

after school

"I just feel like our whole lives have been a lie." Xander was saying, playing the dumb role. He had known about vampires and demons for weeks, but he didn't want his friends to know that.

"I know what you mean." Jesse agreed. "And what was up with that guy you said you met last night, Buffy? From what you said about him, he sounds creepy."

"Yeah, I met all kinds of strange men last night." Buffy said thinking of Batman. "But that one gave me the wiggins. He kept talking about something called the Harvest."

'The Harvest.' Xander thought to himself. 'I better check the occult database when I get home. And I got to find out who told Buffy about that in the first place.'

"Hey, I got an idea." Willow said interrupting Xander's thoughts. "Why don't we go to the Bronze tonight."

"Yeah, we never got to celebrate the return of our best bud." Jesse said as he put his arm on Xander's shoulder. "And new friends." he said as he looped his other arm around Buffy's shoulder.

"Okay. I'll be there kind of late, but I'll be there." Xander told him.

"Come on man forget about homework." Jesse said with a grin. "You can always just get Willow to do it." he said, causing Willow to jab him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Seriously though, I still have some unpacking to do." Xander replied. 'At least that wasn't a lie.'

"Okay, man." Jesse said rubbing his ribs. "We'll see you there."

"Hmmm, why don't I just drive you guys home?" Xander offered.

"Let me think." Jesse replied as he rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Walk home or drive in a cool convertible with my best bud? Yeah we'll take that ride."

"Alright, then." Xander said as he started to walk off. "Follow me."

Little did they know, but Cordelia Chase was standing right behind them and she had heard every word they said. As she looked up and saw Harmony, she decided to start a rumour.

"Hey Harmony, you'll never guess who's gonna be at the Bronze tonight..."

Later that night

The Bronze

"Life sure is good." the doorman of the Bronze muttered to himself as he counted his money.

Unknown to him, Darla came out of the shadows in a bouncy walk. Turning around and  
walking backwards, she smiled while her army of vampires came into the light behind her.' Oh tonight is going to be delicious.' she thought to herself as she turned back again and approached the doorman. The rest of the vampires slipped into their vampiric visages as they headed in.

"Need ID." the doorman said as hey saw somebody walking past him. "Hey! Nobody gets inside until I get some sorta..." he trailed off as he saw Darla's beautiful face turn demonic.

"Get inside." Darla growled as she got in his face. Pushing him inside the last vampire shut the door and stood guard.

* * *

"There sure are alotta chicks here." Jesse commented to Buffy as they saved a table for Xander's arrival.

"And, I know why." Willow spoke up as she walked up to the table with her friends drinks. "They're all here to see Xander."

"You gotta be kidding me." Buffy said as Willow handed her a diet soft drink. She knew all to well how vein girls could be when it came to a rich guy. 'But this.' she thought to herself as she looked at the sea of girls in the Bronze. "How did they even know that Xander was going to show up tonight?"

"Two words." Willow said as she sat down in a seat. "Cordelia Chase."

"So ummm...Buffy would you like to ummmm..." Jesse stopped nervously, as Buffy looked at him with her beautiful green eyes.

"Do you want to dance?" Buffy asked cutting Jesse some slack. Seeing that the boy was still acting shocked, she took him by the hand and led him out on the dance floor.

* * *

'Damn, I'm so late.' Xander thought to himself as he pulled into the Bronze's parking lot. Walking up to the door, he saw a vampire already in game face standing gaurd.

"I'm sure the Master want mind if I have a little snack." the vamp said with a snarl as he lunged at Xander.

Dodging the lunge, Xander immediately launched into a full spinning hook kick. The force of the blow sent the vamp staggering into a pile of boxes. Xander then assumed a fighting position, as the vampire stood up and growled. The vamp came at him again and swung, but Xander ducked the punch and came up behind him. Annoyed he tried a backhand punch, but Xander blocked him, held onto his arm and gave him three roundhouse kicks to his stomach before he shook loose. Seeing that the vampire was still dazed, Xander took his stake out of his jacket and plunged it into the vamps heart, making him crumble into dust.

"A guy just can't go out and enjoy himself these days." Xander muttered as he straightened his jacket and put his stake back into it. Hearing a scream from inside, he stepped up to the door and saw some vampires through the peephole.

With a curse word on his lips, he ran to his car and drove off into the night.

* * *

One of Darla's vampires made his way to the upper level, of the Bronze to secure the area. Another one found the main power switch and shut it off. The people of the club started complaining and wondering what happened, just as Darla got up on the stage.

"Hey, I didn't know there was a band tonight." Jesse whispered to Buffy as they stopped dancing.

"That's because they're not a band." Buffy said as she immediately started to look around the club. "They're vampires."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the club, don't be alarmed." Darla said as she talked into the microphone. "Well, maybe you should be, because you're all gonna die." she said with a short laugh. "Bring me the first."

As she ordered, one of her minions brought the doorman to her.

"What do you guys want, lady, huh?" the doorman asked nervously. "You want money? Damn, what's wrong with your faces?"

"Watch me, people." Darla said as she grabbed him by the throat and wrapped her other arm around his head." For tonight, the Master will be set free."

With that said she bit into the doorman and fed on him, causing him to scream. While deep underground the Master raised his head as he felt the first of the souls that would be taken for him.

"Next!" Darla shouted as she dropped the, now dead doorman's body.

Suddenly the skylight exploded sending wood and glass showering on the occupants of the club. Before Darla, or anybody for that matter, could get her bearings, a small ball like object fell from the hole and started to admit some kind of gas.

"Buffy, what's going on?" Willow asked with a gag as she ran up to her and Jesse. "Who threw that gas in here?"

"It's not gas." Buffy realized as she inhaled it. "It's Garlic."

No sooner had she muttered those words, a dark figure dropped down from the newly made hole. Looking up Buffy saw that it was...

"Batman..?"

Landing in a crouch on the floor, Batman stood up slowly and regarded Darla.

"Nice to see you again." Batman said as he reached into his utility belt and pulled out a grappling hook gun.

Seeing that his sire was in danger, one of Darla's minions jumped in front of her as Batman pushed the button on the gun. As the steel wire wrapped around it's neck, Batman yanked on it instantly decapitating the demon.

"Get...get him." Darla said nervously to her remaining minions as she grabbed another teen.

Seeing that Batman had distracted the vamps, Buffy jumped up on a pool table. Watching her, a vampire attacked from her right. Avoiding her would-be attacker, Buffy did a front walkover off of the table, grabbing a pool cue on the way. When she landed she thrust it into her attacker and let go, even as he began to fall and burst into ashes.

Looking over at Batman taking on four vampires, Buffy watched as Darla grabbed Cordelia. Jumping up on stage Buffy spun around and landed a backhand punch on Darla's face, knocking her into a pile of music equipment, dazing her. Hearing a grunt Buffy turned to see a vampire grab Batman from behind. Looking for a weapon, she grabbed a cymbal from a drum set and threw it at the vampire like a Frisbee. Batman saw it coming and ducked, as the cymbal decapitated the vampire.

Sending a nod to Buffy in thanks, Batman ran off to engage the rest of the vampires. Watching his retreating form, she didn't have time to react, when Darla grabbed her from behind.

"Master! Taste of this... and be free!" Darla roared as she moved in to bite Buffy. Sensing her proximity, Buffy snapped her head back to land a headbutt on Darla's face, knocking her off of her and back to the wall.

"How'd it taste?" Buffy asked as she turned back to the vessel, slightly winded. Angered, Darla stood to her feet and ran towards Buffy. Spinning, Buffy took out her stake, stabbed Darla, and watched as she fell off the stage with a scream and dusted.

"It, seems that we make a good team, Miss Summers." Batman said from behind Buffy startling her.

"What is the matter with you?" Buffy asked as she turned to glare at him. "Wait, how did you know my name?"

"I know many things." Batman said in an even tone.

"Oh, that reminds me." Buffy said as she slapped him hard across the face.

"Hmmm, that's not the thanks I was looking for, for saving your life." Batman said as he turned his head and spit out some blood.

"That was for shocking me last night." Buffy said as she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "Just who do you think..."

"Batman?" a girls voice asked, causing a whispering throughout the club. Looking around the club, Batman and Buffy saw the girls eyeing him with lust.

"Until we meet again, Miss Summers." Batman said as he raised his hand and fired off his grappling hook gun. As the girls started to surround him, he pushed the button on the gun and dissappeared through the broken skylight, melting into the night.

15 minutes later

"Man, this place is a wreck." Xander said as he ran into the club and up to his friends. "What happened?"

"Batman, happened man." Jesse told him excitedly. "You just missed him."

"Isn't Batman supposed to be in Gotham?" Xander asked confused.

"Well for the last two nights, he wasn't." Willow informed him.

"What did you just say?" an older woman asked as she walked up to Willow. "Did you just say that Batman has been here for two days?"

"Ummm, yeah." Willow said with raised eyebrows.

"You heard it here first folks." the woman said as a news camera suddenly was pointed at her. "Gotham's own protector, Batman has been sighted as being in Sunnydale. Is he leaving Gotham behind in order to protect Sunnydale? Well this reporter is yearning to find out. And wait, aren't you Alexander Wayne?" she asked as she looked at Xander.

"Ummm...ummm..."

"Why are you here in Sunnydale?" she asked as she thought about her own question. "More importantly how convenient is it that you're here the same time Batman showed up."

"Lady, what are you accusing me of?" Xander asked, his heart pumping. 'God, they can't find out like this.'

"I'm accusing you of being the legendary dark knight." the reporter fired back.

"Come on lady." Xander said with a nervous laugh. "Batman's been around for over nine years and as you can see I'm just sixteen years old."

"True, but what about your father?" she asked. "You see I did some research on the Wayne family a few years ago. It seems that your father went out of the country for a few years and when he came back Batman suddenly appeared. Now you do the same thing. Do you have a comment on that Mr. Wayne?"

Gotham

"Damnit, Xander." Bruce growled as he cut off the wide screen television. He had spent nine years of his life in secrecy of being the Batman and now that was all about to be destroyed in one night.

"What do you have planned to counter act this, sir?" Alfred asked as he walked up behind him.

"Get, Lucius Fox on the phone." Bruce said as he stood to his feet and sighed. "It seems that I have to go to Sunnydale."

A/N I originally planned to do this part of the chapter later in the series, but hey let's just say that I have a few plans for the story.

TBC...

Please Review


	6. Chapter 5 The Cat's Out of the Bag

A/N Takes place a day after chapter 4. Also thanks for all of the great reviews and too Batchick, I emailed you to explain myself. I wrote over three versions for this chapter, but this was the only one I thought would make sense and would be something that Batman would actually do.

Chapter 5

The Cat's Out of The Bag

"Thanks for believing in me guys." Xander said as he took a sharp turn down a narrow street. The news department called him shortly after, that news report and they said they were going to have an expose' at his house. If he and Bruce were found to be Batman then they would be arrested on the spot, for being vigilante's.

"Well come on man." Jesse said as he slapped him on the arm. "There's no way you can be the Batman."

"Yeah, Xand. I mean he's muscular and smart..."

"Oh, thanks for cheering me up, Buff." Xander said with a pout.

"Hey, what happened to your face?" Willow asked as she noticed the sore spot on his lip and the bruise on his jaw line.

"Oh, umm...when I arrived at the club and tried to walk in a vampire slugged me." Xander lied. "I guess Batman, might have saved me when I was unconcious."

"But..."

"Hey Xander this is my house." Jesse said interrupting Buffy, before she could question Xander.

"Alright, man I'll see you later." Xander said as he stopped the car, while Jesse jumped out of the passengars side.

"Bye, Jesse." both of the girls chorused as Xander drove off.

Whistling a jaunty tune, Jesse walked up to his front door. Fumbling for his keys he heard a dark voice talking from behind him.

"Are you Jesse McNally?" the voice asked.

"Yeah, who wants to..." Jesse trailed off as he turned around and saw the figure standing behind him. Before Jesse could even get the courage to scream, the figure picked him up by the throat and took him off into the night.

Sunnydale High

The next day

"Batboy...Batboy..." some of the teens chorused as Xander walked down the halls of Sunnydale high. That had been going on all day in every class. Now he knew how alot of nerds felt when they would get picked on. Oddly enough, it didn't bother him that much. It was like it was strangely familiar to him.

Turning a corner and going into his locker, someone tapped him on the shoulder. With a sigh, expecting to get harrassed again, he turned only to find that it was only Cordelia.

"Hey, Xand." she greeted warmly.

"Ummm...hi Cordelia." Xander replied ackwardly. "Umm, what's up?"

"Well according to my dad, not your father." she answered. "He said that because of this scandal, some key sponsors have pulled away from Wayne Enterprises and the stock is starting to plummet."

'Damn, I'm sorry dad.' Xander thought to himself. "So I guess you don't want anything to do with me now?" Xander asked. "Seeing as though, I'm going broke."

"Hey, I just came over here to give you the what's up and this is the thanks, I get?" Cordelia asked with a scoff as she turned away.

"Cor wait! I'm sorry." he apologized as he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. "I'm just real frustrated by this whole thing. I...I had no right to take it out on you."

"You should be sorry." Cordelia said in a huff. "I'm risking my social status just being seen with you."

"I'll treat you too a Cappichino, later." Xander said, putting his Wayne charm into affect with his puppy dog eyes.

"Alright." Cordelia replied with a smile. "But this doesn't let you off the hook, Alex." she said as she walked off shaking her money-maker. With a smile, Xander arched his head and started to check her out. Feeling somebody behind him he turned around.

"I wasn't doing nothing." he immediately blurted out as he saw Buffy and Willow standing behind him.

"Uh, huh." Buffy said giving him a look. "It looked like you were checking out Cordelia." Buffy said as she crossed her arms over her chest, making Xander smile sheepishly.

"Anyway, we came by to ask if you've seen Jesse?" Willow cut in. "He hasn't been to school all day and when I called his mom, she said he never came home last night."

'Ah...man.' Xander thought to himself. 'Jesse's another person, I let down.' "Do you think that Master guy, has anything to do with it?" he asked Buffy.

"It, could be." Buffy said as they started to walk towards the library. "That's why I want to talk to Giles and see what he thinks."

Later that night

Wayne Manor

Giles didn't have much to say in the way of finding Jesse. The police wouldn't launch a serious investigation into his dissappearance and all the gang could do was just wait for Jesse's body to turn up. Whether it was a vampire body or not.

And then on top of that the press might have figured out that he was the Batman and that his father was now failing in his company because of it. Of all the things that Batman had done for Gotham, for him to be caught by the police, he would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.

Xander was glad that Buffy and Willow were going to be there for him though. Looking behind himself, he smiled at them gratefully. Letting out a sigh Xander opened his door to let the first of the cameramen in. For today was possibly going to be one of the worst of his life.

* * *

"My name is Chloe Sullivan." the woman reporter said into the camera. "For those who don't know who I am, I'm the reporter that made the connection with the Batman and the Wayne's. Right now I'm in Bruce Wayne's son Alexander Wayne's home. He said he isn't the Batman of Sunnydale, so we're going to give him the benefit of doubt and let him explain himself. If the reports are true and it's found that he is the Batman, then he and his father will be arrested." she said as the camera panned over to show three armed police officers, standing to Xander's right.

"Now, Alex Wayne what do you have to say about these allegations against you?" Chloe asked.

"Well first off, I would like to say that me and my dad are in no way involved with Batman or are we Batman at all."

"If that's true Mr. Wayne then explain how Batman could just show up in Sunnydale?" she asked. "We've checked and the one in Gotham was still there. Which could only mean that there's another one."

"I came to Sunnydale after my dad told me about the deaths of my real parents." Xander said sadly. "I wanted to spend some time down here so I could learn of my past and find out who Alexander Harris really is."

"Very touching story, Mr. Wayne." she said as though she didn't care. "But that still doesn't explain why the Batman has been sighted in Sunnydale around the same time of your arrival. And let's not forget that you have the motive, resources, and the money to become Batman."

'Damn, this lady is sharp.' Xander thought to himself. "I don't know why Batman is here." Xander lied. "And as far as me having a motive and the money to pull it off, lady I'm just sixteen years old."

"True, but with my experience Mr. Wayne, I never count anyone out because of their age." she said thinking about her time in Smallville. "Now understandably Bruce Wayne couldn't be here tonight, but we have him via satellite. Mr. Wayne." she said as she turned to a tv monitor and a moment later, Bruce Wayne appeared on the screen.

"Yes, Miss Sullivan. I'm here." Bruce said.

"Mister Wayne, I hope that tonight I can prove that you are the Batman." Chloe informed him.

"And I Miss Sullivan will prove you wrong." Bruce replied. Seconds later the skylight above where Xander and Chloe were shattered, startling everyone. As the police pulled out there guns expecting an attack, two dark figures dropped down the newly made hole.

Before the police could utter a word, one of the Batmen hurled a smoke bomb at them, that sent them to the floor unconcious.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne." Batman said as he stood up from his crouch and stared at Xander. "You look surprised to see me."

"But...but..." Chloe said flustered out of lack for words. She was so sure. "I..I don't understand. How can you be here?"

"Because, Miss Sullivan violence and crime will not be tolerated." the lead Batman said as he easily strolled up to her, crunching glass under foot as he walked. "And like Gotham, Sunnydale is nothing but a sispool of evil and corruption. So because I can't protect both places at once, I've trained another Batman to take my place." he said as he pointed at the other Batman behind him, who only nodded his head and grunted darkly.

"So you see Miss Sullivan, I'm not the Batman." Bruce said as he calmly sat back in his leather chair.

"But, this just doesn't make sense." Chloe said shaking her head. "My reports..."

"Are probably doctored up to make me look bad." Bruce interrupted. "Miss Sullivan you have cost me and my company alot of money. Not only that but you have publicly embarressed me and my boy. If you or your station ever accuse me of something so absurd again, I'll sue the both of you until you are pennyless, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Chloe said with wide eyes. "This reporter, knows when she's wrong. I want to say that I'm sorry to Alexander and Bruce Wayne. It's clear to me now that they're not the Batman." Chloe said into the camera, even though she didn't truly believe it. 'Maybe, I should stick around Sunnydale for awhile.' "This has been Chloe Sullivan...signing off."

"Now that, that's over." the lead Batman said lowly as he grabbed Xander around the neck and roughly lifted him off of his feet. "Ineed to have a word with you, Mr. Wayne." Before Xander could protest and before Buffy could run to help him, Batman took out his grappling hook gun and in two seconds flat they were through the broken skylight and on top of the roof.

"You don't look well, Mr. Wayne." Batman said as he glared at Xander.

"Who...who are you?" Xander gasped out, as Batman tightened his grip.

Not being able to keep a straight face Batman smiled and then chuckled a bit.

"Bruce?" Xander asked as Batman let him go. "But how..."

"About four years ago my identity was almost revealed. After I cleared that up, I had Lucius Fox, whip up a non sentient android."

"Non sentient?" Xander asked confused.

"It's basically a robot copy made to look like me. It doesn't have much intelligence so, Alfred had to talk through it with a voice analyzer to make it sound like me."

"Alright, I get that part." Xander said as he walked up to him and looked down through the skylight. "But who is that guy?" he asked as he spotted the other Batman.

"Alfred has been telling me what's been going on in Sunnydale since the beginning." Batman told him.

"So he's been lying to me this whole time." Xander said with a grin.

"You'll find that he does that from time to time." Batman said with a grin of his own. "But then he told me of your friend Jesse. So when I arrived in Sunnydale last night I followed you, kidnapped him, and explained to him what's been going on. I trained him in mannerism's and a few other things all night." he said as he shuddered at that memory. It had taken him almost an hour just to stop the boy from saying, "Oh shit, it's Batman."

"So you revealed your secret?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. When we leave from here, I'm going to inject him with a symbiotic sedative and then take him home. When he wakes up, he want even remember anything from the last 48 hours."

"So you are leaving then?" Xander asked sadly. "Why not stay at least a little while and meet my friends."

"I can't." Batman said as he walked up to the skylight. "The public believes that Bruce Wayne is in Gotham, so it'll be a little strange if I just showed up tonight. Besides..." he said with a shrug. "I have to get back to Gotham, the criminals are no doubt running a muck in my absense."

"Dad, I wanted to say I'm sor..."

"Don't apologize." Batman said as he turned to face him. "I'm the one that's been lying to you for years. But I want you to understand that I lied to you to keep you safe. Blood or not, you're still my son Xander."

"Even if I follow behind your footsteps?" Xander asked nervously.

"Even then. And one more thing, why are you going by Batman? Why not Dark Raven, Night wing, or..or Batboy?" he said causing Xander to growl at the last one. "Goodbye son." Batman said as he put his hand on his shoulder. Seeing that the cops were about to wake up, he shot down his grappling hook and swung down to collect Jesse.

"Hey wait! How am I going to get down from here?" he yelled out as he saw that both Batmen were gone.

* * *

"So what did, Batman want to talk to you about?" Buffy asked as the news crew took all of their equipment and left.

"Oh, he wanted to tell me about Jesse." Xander said thinking quickly. "He said that he arrived in Sunnydale last night and saw him about to get snacked on by some vamps."

"Is he alright?" Willow asked. She had almost lost Jesse before and she didn't know if she could handle losing him again.

"He's fine. After checking to see that he wasn't a vampire or anything he dropped him off at home."

"Good...that's good." Buffy said in relief.

"So let's go out and party or something." Xander said as he looped his arm around the both of them. "We can celebrate, me not being Batman."

"Are you kidding?" Buffy asked. "Your parent might not be in town, but mines is. She'll kill me if I don't get home soon." Buffy said as Willow nodded her head in agreement.

"Fine, I'll play with myself then." Xander replied with a pout. Then he thought about what he had said and before he could correct himself both girls were snickering.

Somewhere in Gotham

later that night

"Ahh...phooey..." a voice said in the darkness of his room as he threw his remote control through his televison set making it explode. He had finally thought he had one up on Batman, by learning his true identity, but now...

"What's the matter Mr. J?" a woman with a slightly high pitched voice, wearing a red and black court jester's outfit asked.

"I thought I finally had Fatman exactly where I wanted him but no...nooooo... he had to make another one in Sunnydale." the man replied as he stood to his feet and started to pace. The room was still so dark that his face couldn't be seen, but he was wearing a purple suit and had green hair.

"So what do you want to do about it?" Harley Quinn asked.

"Pack your bags, baby." the Joker said as he stepped into the light. His psychotic smile never leaving his face. "We're going to Sunnydale." 'Right after I handle some unfinished business.' he thought to himself as he started to laugh maniacally.

A/N I originally wrote this chapter about three different ways. The scene where Batman showed up instead of it being Bruce it was going to either be a shapeshifter from the Marvel/DC universe or it was going to be Superman wearing a Batman costume doing Bruce a favor. I got that idea from an episode of Superman the animated series. It was when Bruce was kidnapped and Superman had to go undercover in Gotham as Batman to find him.

Also I'm thinking of skipping a few episodes in favor of writing my own episodes. If you want me to do all of the episodes of Buffy, plus my own missions, or do some of the Buffy episodes and then my missions, then cast your votes now.

TBC...

Please Review...


	7. Chapter 6 Prostitutes and Retribution

A/N Takes place two days before the episode The Witch. Also part of the voice over is from a autobiography book about Spike's life. Also part of the fight scene is from the screenplay Batman Year one by Frank Miller. The script had it's flaws but it deserves credit because it made a good read.

Also thanks for all of the reviews. Some of you I've already emailed with the answers to your questions. But to Mystiksnake, I can't give away to much or it'll ruin the surprise. This is one of the side missions I was telling you guys about. I hope you like it.

Chapter 6

Prostitutes and Retribution

The Sunnydale skies let loose a torrent of rain on the dirty and demon infested city. But the redeemer of the night kept a watchful eye. He stood on the edge of a high roof, silhouetted against a giant full moon.

Voice Over

"As a boy growing up, Alfred used to tell me all kinds of stories." Batman said as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Out of all the things he told me only two things stood out in my mind. One was a fact of life and the other a fairy tale" he said as he scanned the darkness of the night, while his cape fluttered behind him by an unseen wind.

"There are moments in our lives that shape the fabric of our very being. A precious tick of the clock that justifies everything that we've ever done and shapes what more we'll ever do." he stopped for a second to let that truth sink into his on head. "Within a single day's time there are 86,400 seconds. That leaves 86,400 chances that today will change your life forever. And I learned that truth the hard way." he said thinking of his parents.

"Now here's the fairy tale. He told me that one day a knight would stand up against the very darkness itself to fight back. And he said that in protest, the devil would open up his jaws and howl."

Suddenly a scream permeated the air.

"Kinda like that one." he said as he jumped off the edge of the building, dissappearing into the night.

End Voice Over

As Batman closed in on the direction where the scream came from , his gaze lingered across the street at a whore house. From the looks of it, he could tell that the sleazy sex venue was once a movie theater. For some reason the place seemed familiar to him. Out front, prostitutes offered their wares to passing johns and a young pimp wearing a yellow suit and felt bell bottoms, slapped a fat whore, making her cry and apologize to him.

Other whores ushered men into the whore house, but Batman's gaze traveled to a window directly across from the building he was on top of. Inside the building, a long, beautiful lean black woman, put handcuffs on a skinny man. She wore tight fitting, black leather. Noticing Batman looking at her, she smiled and gave him a playful wave.

Ignoring her, he scanned his surroundings one more time. Not seeing any immediate danger he was about to leave, until he heard a scream again. Looking down, he saw a man dragging a young woman into an alley. Taking out his grappling hook gun again, he mentally prepared himself for a fight.

* * *

"You know the rules Nothing for Free." the prostitute said as her john tried to get forceful. Jerking her arm free, she tried to storm off only for the man to grab her again, spinning her around as he did so.

"Well maybe it's time we rethink those rules." the man replied coldly, making her shiver with the harshness of her voice. Suddenly they both heard a flapping of something, like wings and seeing something over her attackers shoulder, the prostitutes eyes widened.

Suddenly the man was aware that someone was standing very close behind him.

"We want to party alone so..." the man stopped mid-sentence as he turned around, switchblade in hand and saw no one there. "You tried to trick me you little..." he was saying to the prostitute as he turned around and saw a dark figure standing in front of him.

"You were saying?" Batman asked.

"Batman..." was all the thug was able to get out as Batman punched him in the face. But that was Batman's mistake because he slapped the man in the wrong direction, knocking him into the woman he was trying to save.

The force of the push knocked the lady up against the wall, where she was knocked unconcious. At that moment of seeing the woman's prone body and the blood gushing from the back of her head, he noticed two things. One, the prostitute was the wife of the man that had been murdered the night he showed up in Sunnydale and two this was the same alley that his family was killed in.

"What the fuck do you want?" the rapist asked as he stood to his feet with the knife. "I ain't scared of no bat." Batman didn't say a word, as his rage began to build in his heart.

He just delivered an upper cut to the man's rib cage. A couple ribs go. A left hook to his face. The nose shattered. An elbow to the head. The jaw broke. The man stumbled back to the wall, dazed and fell to his knees, from Batman's brutality. With a growl, Batman moved in to continue his justice, until her heard the woman groan.

Looking over at her, in his minds eye he saw his mother lying up against the same wall. As his gaze roamed back and forth from the prostitute from the rapist. His decision made he picked up the still unconcious widow and took off into the night.

* * *

Diana opened her eyes, as she heard a horrible screeching sound, followed by the flapping of wings. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, she was in, she immediately screamed as she saw bats flying around. Getting up off of the cot she was lying down on, she looked over her shoulder as she ran and bumped into a tall solid body.

With a shiver, she looked up and nearly fainted again as she saw a large black demon in front of her. Screaming her head off, she attempted to run only for the thing to grab her by the arm.

"Let me go...let me go.." Diana screamed as she tried to jerk her arm free.

"It's going to be alright." the thing said to her in a calm voice, making her turn around. Then as her eyes adjusted to the little light that the cave or where ever the hell she was in, she noticed that it was only a man in a costume. A man named...

"Batman?" she asked confused.

"Yes..." he replied as he let her arm go and stepped back a little.

"What are you doing here in, Sunnydale?" she asked, as her heart calmed down a bit.

"I'm here to fight evil and injustice." Batman replied, only for her to slap him in the face. 'Why do girls keep slapping me?' Batman thought to himself. As he was about to ask her what she thought she was doing, she beat him to the punch.

"If that's true, then why weren't you there for my, Thomas?" she asked, thinking of her husband as a tear came to her eye.

"You'll never know how much guilt, I feel because of that." Xander replied as he pulled off his Batman mask.

"You..." Diana said as her eyes widened in recognition. 'It's the same boy that me and my husband saw down that alley.'

"I lie awake some nights because of what happened. I keep thinking what if I could have been faster. Done something different.."

"I'm sorry." Diana said cutting him off. "I had no right blaming you for that. It was the crooks fault, not yours." she said as she stepped closer to him and looked at his face. "Wait a minute, you're Alexander Wayne. But the news report said..."

"I'll explain, later." Xander told her. "But what I want to know is why you're out there selling your body?"

"We all can't be born into wealth." Diana snapped.

"I...I didn't mean it like that." he replied. "I just meant you..."

"No need to explain." she cut him off again with a sigh. "Me and my husband were living check to check and in California that's a very bad thing. With me going to medical school to try and be a nurse took up our money too, but when Thomas died..." she stopped as she felt choked up.

"He didn't have life insurance and we were already behind on all of our bills. His funeral alone cost almost eight thousand dollars. And with me taking care of Selina, I didn't have much of a choice."

"I see." Xander said thinking. No matter what she said if it wasn't for him being slow, her husband would probably still be alive. So he owed her. "I tell you what I...I need somebody around here to help me."

"Help you?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow. "Help you do what?"

"You said that you were studying to be a nurse. Well with my nightlife job, I think I need somebody with your experience around."

"What's the catch?" she asked suspiciously. In her experience as a twenty six year old woman, no man offered something for nothing.

"The catch is you and your daughter stay at my mansion and I want you to go back and finish medical school."

"But...but..."

"No but's." Xander said sternly as he thought about something. "Wait, where's your daughter?" he asked causing her to look down. Once she told him, she saw a look of something she had never seen before as he put on his mask.

Downtown Sunnydale

The Martini Club

Scantily clad girls walked around as armed gang members played cards at a table. At the service entrance, a guy heard a knock and drawed back the peep hole on a reenforced steel door just as - CLANG. The door flew off it's hinges and skided, sparking across the parking lot on a chain behind the Tumbler. Startled about what they saw the guards rushed outside, guns at the ready. The Tumbler then did a skidding 180 dragging the heavy door and the Batman accelerated, then stomped on the brakes, making the heavy steel door fly past him and smashing into the gang.

Meanwhile, attracted by the noise, more armed men rushed down the staircase of the club. As they walked towards the door, Batman entered with a sneer on his lips.

"Two options." Batman said as he looked at the men in turn. "Tonight you men can go to prison or to the prison hospital, the choice is yours." with a growl the first goon to recover leveled a shotgun at him. Hearing the click of the weapon Batman threw a vicious kick to the guy's crotch before he could fire. "That's the one I hoped you'd pick."

With that said Batman leaped into the fray. A batarang sank into a man's shoulder drawing blood, he screamed as he was then thrown through a window. Another thug swung a bat and seeing the weapon, Batman kicked him in the chest, grabbed his bat from mid air and flung it, making a crunch noise into the face of another gunner across the room.

Turning a guy got the drop on Batman with a machine gun. He threw out a maiming side-kick into a guy's hip, shattering the bone. Sensing someone else coming up behind him, Batman put a foot between another's shoulder blade and - CRACK - jerked both wrists back until they crossed.

Guys then kept pouring down the stairs, leaving Batman to wonder if he would make it out alive or not.

10 minutes later

Batman threw another gang member over the staircase rail . Another went through a window and a third got crushed underfoot as he continued to climb to the top of the building. It's been a tough fight for Batman. His costume had been ripped in many places, blood sat on the corner of his mouth, and he had lost his cape but the action only made him stronger.

According to Diana, the gang members worked for the top men, so he had to take them out before he could reach them. Making it to the roof access, he walked on the roof, saw the warehouse he had to go to and swung there on his grappling hook line.

* * *

Prostitutes laughed and grinned as the gangsters leered at them and payed them money. Everyone was having a good time all except Nick Travers. Something about tonight just seemed off to him. Like something wasn't supposed to be.

"Come on, Nick." one of the girls said as she sat on his lap. "Loosen up and have a little fun."

"Yeah, man." one of his thugs said as a girl put a grape in his mouth. "Get one of these bitches and have fun."

"I don't have time for fun." Travers said as he sat back in his seat. "The boss wants his money tonight, but something just doesn't feel right."

"It's because you heard Batman is in town isn't it?" the thug asked. "Look man, we're the ones with the guns, what the hell can he do?"

CRASH! A shower of glass dropped from an overhead skylight and a dark figure landed on Travers desk. He was a terrifying demon of the night. A pure menace, that was bleeding.

"Gentlemen, I'm here to ask you a few questions." Batman told them.

The men were stunned, paralyzed by fear until Travers pulled an uzi from a holster and fired a volley at Batman. But he was gone. The bullets struck one of his goons in the chest and he went down. Then Batman was in the air, somersaulting over the men on the sofas. Smoke Bombs then flew from his fingers. Then it was all shadows and confusion. Guns fire. BAM. BAM. BAM. Bones CRACK. People SCREAM. Guns - CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. - empty.

Finally a body smashed through the plate glass onto the warehouse floor. The smoke, no longer trapped, was quickly sucked out the broken skylight, leaving Batman and Travers the lone people on two feet. Travers, in shock, clicked his empty gun, while the women broke for the door and scattered into the night.Without ever removing his eyes from Travers, Batman drew a knife from his desk and stabbed it into Travers hand.

"I don't have time to play around." Batman said as he started to breathe heavily. "I want to know two things. One of them is where is Selina Kyle?"

"She's...she's in that room asleep." he said as he pointed at a door behind him.

"Good, now who is your, boss?"

"I can't tell you." Travers said as he began to shake. "He would kill me."

"I might kill you!" Batman growled as he grabbed the man by the collar. "Now talk!" Eyes going wide, Travers eyes rolled up in the back of his head as he had a heart attack. Before Batman could help the older man he died in his arms. "Damnit!" he said as he let him go.

Not seeing any important papers in the drawers of the desk, Batman walked into the other room, picked up a beautiful eight year old, blonde haired little girl, and took off with her into the night.

The next day

early saturday morning

Finally coming around out of his fit of nightmares Xander's eyes fluttered and then snapped completely open. He was momentarily confused and as his eyes fully adjusted to the light, he saw Diana sitting nearby drinking a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, for bringing my little girl to me." Diana said as she put down her coffee.

"Not a problem." Xander said with a wince. "I just wish, I could remember how I did it."

"I don't blame you for not remembering." she replied as she handed him a glass of water and aspiran. "You were pretty out of it last night. When you came back to the batcave, with Selina, you changed into your regular clothes and passed out. It took me nearly an hour to get you in your car, out of the batcave, and to your house."

"You're looking spiffy." Xander commented with a grin as he looked at her clothes. "You didn't steal my credit card when, you tried to find out where I lived did you?"

"No. After I brought you here and bandaged you up, I went back to my house and got clothes for me and Selina."

Xander then looked down at his bandages around his rib cage and stomach. 'Not a bad job.' he thought to himself, as he tried to sit up.Seeing that it was too painful, he layed back down.

"How is Selina, anyway?" Xander asked as he finally got comfortable in bed.

"She's doing fine. I picked out a room for her last night and she's still in their sleeping."

"That's good...good." Xander told her. "You can pick out any bedroom you want, I have about ten of them."

"I already did." Diana said as she stood to her feet and smiled. "Oh, and you were out of twinkies in the kitchen, so I stopped off this morning and bought you another box."

"I think I love you." Xander said seriously as he looked at her. But then she looked at him with a pained expression on her face.

"It's never going to stop hurting is it?" she asked as she sat next to him on his bed.

"No..." Xander said knowing immediately what she was talking about. "But it get's less and less painful everyday...if you let it." he said as he pulled her into a hug. "I've been here for awhile now and I haven't even visited my parents grave site yet. Let's say me, you, and Selina go and visit your husband and then my parents?"

"That'll be nice." Diana said as she stood to her feet. "Now enough of this mushy stuff, I'm going to fix us some breakfast."

"I don't have much in the way of actual breakfast food." Xander warned her.

"That's okay." Diana said as she turned to smile at him. "I stole some money out of your wallet and bought some."

"Diana, I think I like you already." Xander said causing her to blush as she walked out of his room.

Deep under Sunnydale

The Master's Cave

"So it is true that the girl is indeed a Slayer?" the Master asked of his servant. He already knew the answer, because she was partly responsible for his favorite Childe's Luke and Darla's death.

"She is, Master." the vamp said as he bowed down before him. "She slayed four of our order just last night."

"Well aren't you in a, pickle?" a pompus voice asked from the shadows. Looking up the Master saw that it was an old enemy that he hadn't seen in over 60 years.

"Mayor Wilkins." the Master said a bit surprised. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"You know..." Mayor Wilkins said with a small chuckle. "For somebody that's been stuck down here for sixty years, I would think that you would be a little less sarcastic."

"And exactly how did you know I've been down here this long?" the Master asked as he lost his smile.

"Simple." Wilkins said with a shrug. "It's because I trapped you down here. You didn't actually think that I would let you take over my city, before I would be able to ascend did you? Golly no."

"The earthquake..."

"Was all my doing." Wilkins said as he smiled at him again. "A little dark magic here. A little sacrifice there and you would be surprised at what you could accomplish."

"And what makes you think, that I'll let you leave this cave alive?" the age old vampire asked, as his minions slipped into their vampiric visages. Ready to attack.

"Because, I've brought a little insurance policy." the politician replied back as two huge all black demons appeared behind him out of the shadows.

"Before, I and my minions rip you apart, tell me what you want Wilkins."

"I want to form a temporary alliance." Wilkins replied as his demons and the Master's kept growling at each other, but temporarily staying in place. "It seems that we share a common enemy."

"The Slayer?"

"No, Batman." Wilkins said as he started to pace. "You see I'm not too worried about the Slayer at all. Batman on the other hand doesn't just care about killing demons, but he has a habit of taking down criminal bosses as well." 'And he proved that, tonight.' Wilkins thought to himself. 'That money should have been mine.'

"So you want to form an alliance to take out the bat and the slayer?" the Master asked.

"You're darn tooten." Wilkins said happily. "Now what do you say?"

"You have a deal." the Master said grinning ear to ear.

"Excellent." Wilkins said as he turned to leave. "Now don't bother getting up, I'll show myself out."

"Master, you don't really trust him do you?" one of his minions asked as Wilkins and his demons walked out of the room.

"Of course not." The Master said as he turned his gaze on him. "With his help though, we can rid ourselves of the Slayer and the Batman. But hear this though, as soon and I mean as soon as I say that the truce is over I want our dear Mayor, my most hated enemy dead!"

"As you wish, Master." the minion said with a dark smile.

A/N I originally planned to do this chapter later, but I had other ideas. Also I wanted to show a darker side to the Mayor. I mean the guy wasn't all wholesome like he appeared to be. What with him eating people and all. Also to anybody that was wondering, the reason why the story is moving so fast is because I'm only going to cover season one. I'm not going to do anymore seasons but I'm going to end this fanfic in a way that a sequel could be made by another authour who wants to take the job. And I know...I know Selina is just a little girl in this fic, well that's because I have plans for her later on.

TBC...

Please Review...


	8. Chapter 7 The Witch

A/N Thanks for the commentary Eckles. You'll know what I'm talking about when I get to it. Also I made a few changes to the episode.

Chapter 7

The Witch

'Fuck' was the first coherant thought Xander had, upon awakening as he felt something jump on his stomach. Cracking his eyes open brown eyes met green one's as he saw Selina wearing pajamas with pictures of cat's on them, sitting on his stomach, silently watching him.

"Ummm...hi." Xander said ackwardly, only for the little girl to look at him suspiciously.

"Are you really my, uncle?"

"What?" Xander asked groggily as he tried to sit up. Getting the hint, Selina got off of his stomach and sat next to him on the bed.

"My mom said that you were my, uncle." Selina informed him.

"Ummmm..."

"I didn't even know that she had a brother."

"Selina, there you are." Diana said as she walked into the room. "Leave your uncle alone and go and get ready for school."

"Okay, mom." Selina said happily as she jumped off Xander's bed. "Goodbye, Uncle Alex." she said as she kissed him on the cheek and ran out of the room.

"Uncle?" Xander asked as he gave Diana a look.

"What did you want me to tell her?" Diana asked. "That mommy has a rich sugardaddy?"

"I'm not a..."

"I know." she said interrupting him. "But Selina doesn't believe anymore than I did that a man would do something nice just for the hell of it. Except for her father." she added silently. "Now you don't mind if I use one of your cars to drop Selina off do you?"

"Actually you can just pick a car and keep it." Xander replied as he put on a shirt.

"There you go again." Diana said giving him a disgusted look.

"What?" Xander asked confused.

"You keep throwing your money in my face." she replied. "Me and Selina can do good on our own." she said as she turned to leave, only for Xander to grab her by the shoulders and turn her back around.

"Now you hold on. I didn't help you so I could throw a pity party with you." he informed her. "I lost my parents the same way you lost your husband. I...I felt so lost and I didn't think that anybody was ever going to be there for me, but then Bruce came along. If it wasn't for him, I never would have gotten these chances in life. Don't think about just yourself. Think about Selina and her future."

"I'm sorry, I'm just..."

"It's okay." Xander said as he pulled her into a hug.

"Mommy, you and uncle Xander aren't gonna kiss are you?" Selina asked as she entered the room. "Because if you are...ewwwwww." she said a little disgusted.

"Come on squirt." Diana said letting go of Xander. "I'll take you to school." as the two began to walk out of Xander's room, Diana turned back and nodded her head to him letting him know that she finally understood him. And that's when Xander realized that their relationship was going to be strained, but the outcome was going to be worth it.

Sunnydale High

Later that morning

"Alright, Cordy we'll hook up later." Xander said over his shoulder as he walked down a hallway. It seemed that Cordelia wanted to go out on their date sooner than later. Rounding a corner he ran smack dab into someone. "Sorry." Xander blurted out. 'Damn, why do I keep bumping into everybody.' he thought to himself as he looked down at the cute honey blonde in front of him.

"It's alright. I should have been watching where I was going." the girl replied.

"I hate for this to sound like some cheesy pickup line, but have we met before?" Xander asked. 'It's just something about her eyes.'

"I don't think so." the girl said giving him a look. "My names, Amy by the way."

"Sorry for my poor manners." Xander said as he held his hand out for her to shake. "My name is Alexander Wayne. But when I lived in Sunnydale it was Xander Harris."

"Harris?" Amy said with raised eyebrows. "Now I remember you. I used to babysit you as a little...I mean we used to play together when we were young." she corrected herself.

"Wait is your last name Madison?" he asked, not really paying attention to what she had said at first.

"Yeah." Amy replied.

"Now I remember you." Xander said thinking. "But didn't you used to be..."

"Big as a house." Amy finished for him with a grin. "Well I decided to lose some weight, because I wanted to become a cheerleader this year."

"Well you look beautiful." Xander said as he brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear where it belonged.

"Tha...thanks." Amy said with a blush. "I...I have to get to the gym. I have to get ready for cheerleading practice you know..."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Xander said as the two went in seperate directions.

'Damn that was close.' Catherine Madison thought to herself. Every since she did the body swapping spell with her daughter, she had forgotten at times that she was in Amy's body. 'But maybe I'll stay in this body a little longer.' she said as she chanced a glance in Xander's direction. 'Maybe I'll try a little love spell. I've never been rich before.'

* * *

As Xander walked by the school library, he heard shouting coming from the other side. Walking in he saw Buffy in a cheerleader outfit and Giles walking around her with a frown on her face.

"This is madness!" Giles was raving. "What can you have been thinking? You are the Slayer and lives depend upon you." he said as he started to pace. "I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility, and instead of which you enslave yourself to this, this cult."

"You don't like the color?" Buffy asked as she looked down at her outfit.

"I d..." Giles stopped in exasperation. "Do you um...do you ignore everything I say as a, as a rule?"

"No that's your trick." Buffy said as she finally noticed Xander standing at the door. "See you could ask Xander." she said as she moved over closer to her friend. "He could tell you that this is a good idea."

"I'm sure he would." Giles said with a roll of his eyes. He knew how teenage boys mind's worked.

"I guess it all boils down to, do you want Buffy to have a normal life?" Xander asked.

"Of course I do but..."

"Then why not let her do something a normal teen would do? If it becomes a big problem later on she could just quit."

"Yes, but..."

"Hey what's the what everybody?" Jesse said with a camcorder in his hands, as he and Willow entered the room.

"We're trying to convince Giles to let me be a cheerleader." Buffy informed him.

"You mean cheerleader as in the cheerleading tryouts that started five minutes ago?" Willow asked.

"And the one I'm about to record." Jesse replied as he held up his camcorder.

"Aw man, I have to get to the gym." Buffy said as she gave Giles a look. With a sigh he nodded his head for her to go and watched as his children walked out of the library.

"The earth is certainly doomed." he muttered to himself as he went back to filing books.

The Gym

The cheerleader tryouts were about to start and girls are stretching and practicing, doing back handsprings, cartwheels and walking handstands. One girl did a roundoff followed by a back  
handspring, just as Buffy, Willow, Jesse, and Xander came through the door.

"Thanks for helping me with, Giles." Buffy said to Xander as they all sat down on the bleachers.

"No problem." Xander said giving her a wink. " You know people scoff at things like school spirit, but look at these girls giving their all like this." he said as he noticed Amber doing the splits between two chairs.

"Ooo, stretchy! Where was I?" Xander asked.

"You were pretending that seeing scantily clad girls in revealing postures was a spiritual experience." Willow answered as she looked over at him, with a smile.

"Who said I was pretending?" Xander asked with a shrug.

"Oh, hey!" Jesse said digging into his pocket. "I remember you telling me about the tryouts yesterday, so I bought you something." he told Buffy as he handed her a bracelet.

"What's this?" she asked as she looked it over. "Oh, how sweet." she said as she read the inscription 'Yours Always.'

"I-i-it came that way." Jesse assured her nervously.

"Jesse, likes Buffy. Jesse likes Buffy." Xander sing-songed into his friends ear, causing Jesse to slap his arm.

"Just look at that Amber." Cordelia said in a huff as she approached the group. "Who does she think she is, a Laker Girl?"

"I heard she turned them down." Willow said matter-o-factly as Joy, the cheerleading squad leader, stepped up with her clipboard and called for everyone's attention.

"Okay, listen up! Let's begin with..." she stopped to check her clipboard. "Amber  
Grove. If you're not auditioning, move off the floor." she said to the other girls.

"Amy! Hi!" Willow said as she spotted her old friend.

"Hi." Amy greeted back as she walked over to them and sat down.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader." Willow commented. "You lost a lot of weight."

"Had to." Amy replied with a shrug.

"Do you know Buffy and Xander?" Willow asked.

"Actually we're old friends." Xander said as he shook Amy's hand causing her to blush. Buffy just nodded her head in greetings.

"Oh, how I hate this, let me count the ways." Amy said to Buffy as Amber began her routine.

It was very athletic. She started off with a needle-split lift followed by a double spin and a jumping double spin. After landing, Amber launched herself into an aerial and a cartwheel.  
Jazz slides were then followed by a single spin. Everyone in the gym was intent on watching her. Especially Jesse with his camcorder.

"She trained with Benson. He's one of the best coaches money can buy." Amy said as she looked back at Buffy.

"They have cheerleading coaches?" Buffy asked with arched eyebrows. 'Damn they have coaches for everything.'

"Oh, yeah! Don't you have?" Amy asked as if it were a common thing. "I train with my mom, three hours in the morning, three at night."

"Hmm, that much quality time with my mom would probably lead to some quality matricide."

"Oh, I know it's hokey. But she's really great." Amy said playing along.

"Hmm!" Cordelia said in a huff as she turned her back to Amber with a look of contempt on her face. 'That bitch is gonna get picked over me.' she thought to herself. 'Oh just fall over and break your leg already.'

Despite Cordy's huff, Buffy and Xander watch Amber in amazement. Amy and Willow are impressed too, especially when Amber's hands started to smoke.

"What the...?" asked with wide eyes.

"That girl's on fire!" Willow shouted out.

"Enough of the hyperbole!" Cordy screeched, still facing away from her, not seeing the smoke.

Amber's hands then caught on fire, making her drop her pompoms and scream. Buffy and Xander then react at the same time. Amber flailed her hands in the air, just as Xander and Buffy jump up simultaneously onto the stands and pull down a banner. They then ran back to Amber, knock her down and snuffs out the flames with the banner, as everyone stared in shock.

"It's okay, it's okay, you're gonna be... okay." Buffy muttered to the Amber, trying to offer some comfort. "God!"

Wayne Manor

An Hour Later

"You're home late." Diana commented as she saw Xander walk through the living room door.

"I was at the cheerleader tryouts." Xander replied, a little bummed out.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked playfully. "Cheerleaders don't help you get your jolly's?"

"A girl caught on fire today." Xander told her making her lose her smile.

"What? What happened, is she okay?"

"Yeah, it was just wierd. One minute she putting on a good show and the next...just all by herself she started to burst into flames."

"Spontaneous combustion?" Diana asked. "That's rare."

"That's the same thing that Giles said." Xander said as he walked past her and sat on his sofa. As soon as the incident had happened they had immediately went to Giles and told him what happened. "But I think that he and the gang are on the wrong page. I think there's something else going on, so I took the tape that a friend of mine was filming so I can examine it."

"A boy parting with a tape of girls bouncing around?" Diana asked. "He must be sick or something?"

"No, I told him that I was just making copies." he replied as he put the tape into the vcr and pushed play.

fifteen minutes later

"Maybe, I was wrong." Xander said as he pushed pause on the tape. "We've watched this thing five times and nothing."

"Hold on." Diana said taking a closer look at the tape. "Play it again and this time put it in slow motion." not seeing the harm in it, Xander did as she asked.

"There." she said as she pointed at the screen. Taking a closer look, Xander saw a red mist, coming from the bleachers and going towards Amber. It was something human eyes couldn't see at the time, but rather something that was picked up by a camera.

"What the hell is that?" Xander asked.

"I don't know, but that wasn't the only thing I was looking at." she said as she pointed to a honey blonde in the stands.

"That's Amy." Xander said doing a double take. 'She's smiling.' he noticed as Amber started to catch on fire.

"I think we have our suspect." Diana said as she stopped the tape.

"But, Amy?" Xander questioned outloud. "She just seemed so sweet."

"It's always the nice ones." Diana replied with a shrug. "Now I think you should tell the others that..."

"I'm not going to tell them anything." Xander said as he stood to his feet. "No offence to the group, but they just work to slow for my tastes. I'm going to go out and do some investigating first anyway."

"Oh, that reminds me." Diana said with a snap of her fingers. "Some old guy named, Alfred called for you. He said something about a shipment should be here for you soon."

"Good. I didn't like the fact of the batcave being so far away." Xander said as he ejected the tape. "So I'm gonna have one made under the house and use the other one as a secondary base."

"Aren't the guys coming to fix the batcave up gonna get suspicious?"

"Nah, because me and you are going to build it." he said as he walked out of the door before she could protest.

* * *

With heavy rain dripping off Batman's cape and cowl, he nimbly jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Seeing the house he wanted, he jumped to it's roof, pried open and slipped through a window, dropping silently to the floor.

As he looked around the dark attic, he saw that there were flowers and herbs hanging upside down from the rafters to dry along with personal items with identification tags. Looking closer, he saw a cauldron with a foul smelling liquid in it.

On closer investigation, he saw all kinds of cheerleading trophies and pictures on the wall. Moving over to one, he suddenly heard a noise. As Batman melted back into the shadows, he saw Amy enter the room.

He noticed that she moved around in the darkness with a practiced ease as she walked up to the cauldron. She waved a bracelet over the brew, then pulled it back. She then went over to a rack and yanked off a doll hanging there by its neck on a wire.

As she was about to walk back over to the cauldron, she noticed the rain spattering off the open window. Curious, she stepped over and closed it, only to turn around to the face of a demon.

"Doing a little Witchcraft, Miss Madison?" Batman asked as he sneered at her. He was so sure that she was a good girl.

"What the...Batman." she calmed down as she noticed who he was.

"What have you been up too, Amy?" Batman asked. "Why have you been targeting cheerleaders?"

'Good, the fool knows nothing.' Catherine thought to herself. "Because cheerleading runs in my blood." Amy told him as she walked over to where the trophies were. "I...my mother was known as Catherine the great. She was the best cheerleader this side of California and I'm gonna be just like her. Even if it kills me." she said as she reached her hand behind her back.

"Or somebody else." Batman replied as he stepped closer to her.

Suddenly Amy's hand flashed toward Batman, who dodged a small puff of smoke. As he stepped closer to her, he started to cough, choke, and finally lose his balance. Looking back up at her, Batman saw the creature from his dreams. He was looking at Spike.

Reeling back, in the throws of a hallucination, Amy smashed a bottle over him, soaking him with a foul smelling substance. Lurching for the window, images assaulting his mind, Amy raised her hand up and a green fire jumped out of her hand, making him burst into flames.

Fire engulfing him, Batman smashed through the window, cloak ablaze. Trying to activate his cloak it failed- except for one side that managed to pop open. The failed wing caused him to spiral and plummet, trailing flame, as he hit the ground with a crash and a sizzle, as wet pavement dampened the flames. Groaning, Batman rolled his burning batsuit along the asphalt.

His suit, smoldering, he lurched into an alley, raised his grapel gun, fired up at an enclosed roof, rode up, punched his way through wire and metal, crawled onto his back, and stared up at the stars of Sunnydale. The rain blurring his vision.

Breathing heavily he fumbled at his utility belt and pulled out a tiny phone.

"Diana!" he yelled hoarsely. "Diana!"

Wayne Manor

Ten o'clock PM

Xander finally awoke in his bed, shivering and red-eyed from crying. Looking to his side, he saw Diana at his bedside, watching over him.

"What happened?" Xander asked as he sat up.

"You tell me?" Diana asked. "I was just sitting in Selina's room, watching her fall to sleep and you were calling me on vid-phone. It took me over thirty minutes to find you in the Tumbler, but I managed to get you home."

"I'm...I'm not burned." Xander said as he looked down at himself.

"No you're not." Diana said giving him a look. "But, you were drugged with something, that probably made you think you were burning. I took a little sample of it off of your suit and..."

"How long was, I out?" Xander interrupted.

"Only for a couple of hours."

"I have to go back." Xander said as he weakly stood to his feet. "Amy's the one. She's been doing witchcraft on these girls."

"Xander you can barely stand up." Diana said sharply as she tried to push him back down on the bed. "And what do you mean by these girls? I thought there was just one?"

"She's going after, Buffy too." Xander told her as he held up the necklace, he took from Amy. It was the sameone that Jesse had given her just that morning. "I have to go."

"No!" she yelled as she gave him another push. "I can't let you go back out there and get yourself killed."

"I...I want." he told her. "I'm going to get back up."

Valleycrest cemetery

Buffy hiked up the collar on her jacket as she staked her last vampire for tonight. Even though she had slayed four of them, her mind still flashed back to what happened to Amber that morning.

"Nice night isn't it Ms Summer's." a voice asked from behind her.

""Gaah!" Buffy yelled, startled out of her reverie. "You again? Can't you sneak up on somebody else from time-to-time?"

"I could. But it wouldn't be as much fun." Batman said with a shrug.

"Well as long as you get your jollies. As for me? I'm libel to have a conanary attack."

"Hmmm... So what your saying is that everytime you see me, I break your heart?"

"Oh, don't get smug. That's not what I meant and you know it." Buffy told him.

"If you say so."

"Is there a reason you've made another appearance out of thin air?" Buffy asked as she stopped walking and glared at him.

"Actually there is. It's about what happened this morning at your highschool."

"How did you know about that?" Buffy asked wide eyed.

"I know many things, Miss Summers." he replied cryptically. "Even the person who was responsible for it."

"But, Giles said..."

"I've been doing some investigating and the person responsible for this witchcraft is, Amy Madison."

"Yeah right." Buffy said with another glare. "She's one of the sweetest girls, I've ever met. What makes you so sure, that she's the cause of all of this?"

"Because she was targeting you." Batman said as he reached into his utility belt and handed her, her bracelet back.

"How did you..."

"As I said, she was targeting you and she's into witchcraft." Batman replied. "Now if you want to help stop her, this is what I need for you to do."

* * *

Batman sat crouched on top of a house across the street from Amy's house. As he used his binoculars, he saw that Buffy was knocking on her door. As she dissappeared in her house as Amy opened the door, he sat there and thought about what Amy had said earlier that day.

'She was going to say, that she used to babysit me and just earlier she almost said that she was known as Catherine the great. Then that means...'

Standing to his feet, he jumped off the roof of the house and headed towards Amy's door. Quickly getting them open, with a pair of lock-picking tools, he saw a middle aged woman sitting alone in the living room, eating chips and watching TV. Slowly walking up to her he called out her name.

"Amy?"

* * *

"So what did you want to show me up here, Amy?" Buffy asked as they walked into her attic. Batman had told her to play along with her, until she tried something. Then he wanted her to throw a little smoke bomb at her and then pull a button on a bat communicater to let him know to come a running.

But Buffy wasn't gonna do that last part. She was just gonna kick Amy'a ass.

"I just wanted to show you something." Catherine said mumbling something under her breath, as she held a conjuring stone behind her back. If she couldn't be a winner as her daughter, then she was going to be one by being the new girl.

"Mom stop!" a voice yelled behind them. Turning they saw Amy's mom standing there.

"Amy, you get your worthless carcass downstairs now!" Catherine growled.

"Amy?" Buffy asked looking between the two.

"Stay out of this!" Catherine screamed as she used her power on Buffy, sending her crashing against a wall. "You stupid little bitch." she said as she turned back towards her daughter. "I give you everything and this is how you repay me?"

Batman waited until Catherine held up the stone, mumbled the incantation, and sent the beam from her body to Amy's, switching their souls. Emerging out of the shadows, he hurled a batarang, that hit Catherine in the hand, as she tried to do the same thing to Buffy. Knocking the beam off course, it reflected off of a mirror, back towards Catherine and then into a trophy that was beside her.

With a scream Catherine Madison, dissappeared in a beam of light.

"Um, what just happened here?" Buffy asked as she stood to her feet and looked at Amy. "You still evil?"

"That was my mom." Amy replied with a shrug.

"Now where's Batman?" Buffy asked as she scanned the room and didn't see him in sight. 'That son of a bitch did it to me again.' Buffy thought to herself.

Sunnydale High

The next day

"I talked it over with my, mom and you're welcome to stay with us." Buffy was saying to Amy as they walked down a hallway together.

"Thanks for the offer but my dad is gonna take care of me now." Amy told her with a smile. "And he is so impossible. He doesn't ever want me going anywhere. He wants to spend total quantity time together. And I'm, like, 'Dad, I can go out, it's perfectly safe.' But he's got all this guilt about leaving me with my mom. And he's being a total pain."

"You're loving it."

"Every single minute." Amy said with a smile. Every since her parents had gotten a divorce when she was ten, she barely saw her father. And that was mostly because her mom fought to keep them apart. "This Saturday night he wants to stay in and make brownies. Well, the brownies were my idea."

"Hey, I'm really sorry you guys got bumped back to alternate." Cordelia said as she came up behind them. Then she reconsidered what she said. "Hold it, wait... No I'm not."

"Well, I know that I'll miss the intellectual thrill of spelling out words with my arms." Amy joked.

"Ooo, these grapes are sour." Cordelia replied as Buffy and Amy stopped at the trophy case while Cordelia continued on.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you wanted to be on the squad." Amy apologized to Buffy for the cheerleader crack.

"Oh, hey, that's okay." Buffy said if not concerned. "Cheerleading's just a little too hairy for me these days."

"That's for sure." Amy replied taking a breath, as they went around to the front of the case and look at Catherine's picture.

"Catherine the Great." Amy muttered.

"And there's been no sign of her?"

"That last spell... wherever she is I don't think we'll have to worry." Amy told her, as they both looked at Catherine's cheerleading trophy.

"Twisted." Buffy said getting as they turned to go.

"I'm just happy to have my body back. I'm thinking of getting fat."

"Y'know, I hear that look's in for spring." Buffy said back to her.

"Why do you want to do that?" Xander asked as he walked up.

"Oh, um I remember a little of what my mom was thinking about you..." Amy said nervously. She had to admit, Xander was cute and she wouldn't mind doing a love spell on him herself. "and..."

"That's water under the bridge." Xander cut her off. "Let's start all over. Hi, my name is Xander." Xander said as the two shook hands.

"Amy." Amy replied with a little giggle, that Buffy stangely couldn't help but find annoying. Then she stood there and wondered why she found it annoying.

"Hey, Buff come on!" Xander called out. "I'm gonna treat you girls and the rest of the gang to a ice cream cone."

If they had of stayed a moment longer, they would have seen the eye's on Catherine's trophy move.

Later that night

An Apartment

"How can the Powers that be change their minds like this?" Angel asked as he paced around his apartment building.

"I'm not to question." Whistler said as he took a swig of some booze he had brought over. "Nobody anticipated that Xander Wayne would come to SunnyD and be the Dark Knight."

"But why do they want me to leave?" Angel asked as he turned to look at the tacky dressed man.

"Because, like it or not ratboy you have a destiny to fulfill." he replied with a shrug. "Neeedless to say if you stay, you're dust." then he looked at Angel hard. "What's wrong? You're talking like your'e in love with the Slayer or something?"

"N...no. Of course not." Angel replied a little too quickly. "I just agreed to help her, that's all."

"If you say so kid." the balance demon said as he threw the now empty bottle in the trash. "Now come on, i'll help you pack. There's this girl just outside of Boston that could use your help."

TBC...

Please Review...


	9. Chapter 8 Teachers Pet

A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. To Mystiksnake, no the girl in boston isn't Faith but somebody else. You'll see why I put it like that later on in the series.

To Anthony1, I'm not sure if Angel is gonna come back or not. He might though.

And to eckles71, Marc DeHaan, djhardim, Drake the Archr, VladtheImpish, hattenjc, ender01161986, screaminheathen69, BAKAMAN, American Soldier, and Kuramalovergirl I'm glad you guys like the story.

Chapter 8

Teacher's Pet

A deep rumbling tore through the night sky, as heavy rain showered down from the heavens. The steady beats of the raindrops, as they landed on the ground, sounded like thousands of little drummers.

A dark figure let out a deep grunt of pain, as he slushed through the mud and held at his side breathing heavily. As the thunder rumbled and the lightning flashed, it was revealed to be a battered and bruised Xander who angrily looked over at his most hated enemy.

"Well, well, well the little hero thinks he can beat the big bad." Spike said with grin. "We'll just 'ave to see about that." he said as he vamped out and charged at him.

Waiting until he got close enough Xander kicked Spike, sending him tumbling to the mud. As he tried to kick Spike again, the crafty vampire caught his foot and pushed him back. Spike then overpowered Xander, pushing him to the ground and punching him repeatedly in the face.

Coming out of his daze Xander grabbed Spike's arm and kicked him away. Neither of them saw Selina, with a yellow raincoat on, watching them from behind a large trashcan. Xander went to punch Spike again, but this time, Spike grabbed his arm and twisted it around so that he could almost bite his neck.

Alarmed, Selina stood, knocking over the trash can she was hiding behind. Startled Spike, turned to see what happened. Xander seized the moment, and head-butted Spike, freeing himself from his grip. He then elbowed him, punched him, and finally knocked him down with a viscious kick. When he stood, Xander threw a stake he had ready, towards his heart. Seeing the projectile coming, Spike caught it between his palms only inches in front of his chest.

"The hero has some moves after all." Spike said impressed as he twirled the stake in his hands. "Too bad it wasn't enough." he said as he threw it past Xander's head. Turning, he was just in time to see the stake embed itself into Selina's throat. Instantly killing her, before she hit the ground. Looking back towards, Spike, he found that the vampire was gone, but his voice carried through the wind.

"I'm coming for you."

"Gahhh..." Xander yelled out, as he woke up from his nightmare and looked around the room he was in. Over twenty students, looked back at him and started laughing. But both Willow and Buffy looked over at him concerned.

"Mr. Wayne if my lecture on ants is boring you, perhaps you would like to teach this class." Dr. Gregory said as he glanced up at him.

"Sorry, sir." Xander said as he sat up straighter and gave the teacher his full attention. "It want happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Dr. Gregory said as he turned back to his presentation.

* * *

"Xander are you okay?" Willow asked as the class ended and they walked off into the hallway. Buffy walked up behind them, after she talked to the teacher. She found out that he was a kind old man, that really cared about his students and her future.

"I'm...I'm fine." he replied, still a little shakenly. "It was just another bad dream."

"Well do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, it's...it's just something that I have to deal with."

"Oh, that reminds me, I tried to call you yesterday." Buffy interrupted. "You know to see if you would like to be my partner for our project in science class."

"Why me?" Xander asked as he looked back at her. "Willow is way smarter than I am."

"That's because Will's my project buddy." Jesse said as he turned the corner and slapped Xander lightly on the back. "I figure, if me and her team up I'm sure to get an A."

"Cool, it's..."

"One more thing." Buffy interrupted him again as they started walking towards the school cafeteria. "When I called your house, a little girl answered the phone. Who was she?"

"My little niece, Selina." Xander answered with a sad smile. He knew that it was just a dream but he had still failed her.

"No way. So does that mean that you have a brother or more importantly a sister?" Jesse asked.

'Not one that I want to mention.' Xander thought to himself. 'I hate my sister.' "I'll tell you guys about that later. Now come on let's go and get something to eat."

* * *

Dr. Gregory smiled to himself, as he watched Buffy leave his classroom. He loved getting the chance to challenge young minds and he knew that Buffy had a rare one. All she needed was someone to guide her and to bring out what he knew was in her. What he didn't know was that he would never get that chance.

While he concentrated on the ant slides, the closet door opened behind him and a large, green mantis claw wrapped around his neck. Startled, Dr. Gregory looked up behind him and screamed as he was ripped away from his chair. His glasses hit the floor and broke, and an instant later so did he.

Wayne Manor

The next day

morning

Selina's childish giggles filled Xander's ears as he opened the door to his house. With a smile on his face he walked into his living room and saw his father figure sitting on the floor, tickling Selina mercilessly.

"Alfred?" Xander asked surprised as he walked in the room.

"Who else would I be, Master Alexander?" Alfred asked as he stood to his feet and gave Xander a fatherly hug.

"What are you doing here?" Xander asked as he broke their embrace. "And is dad here?"

"I'm just here for a couple of days." Alfred informed him. "And no, Master Bruce isn't here."

"Uncle Alfred, why do you call uncle Alex, master?" Selina asked as she looked at the two curiously.

"I think it's time for you to get ready for school." Diana said as she picked Selina up, to avoid an ackward moment.

"Aww...mom." Selina whined. "You always make me miss the good stuff." she said as the two walked out of the room.

"She's a very charming little girl." Alfred said as he looked over at Xander. "So what, you're taking in strays now?"

"It's runs in the family." Xander replied with a shrug. "I'll tell you what's going on, on the way to school."

Sunnydale High

"Hey guys, I want you to meet somebody." Xander said happily as he approached Buffy and Willow, who were sitting at a table in the hallway. "This is a family friend of mine named Alfred. Alfred these are my friends Buffy and Willow." he properly introduced them.

"The both of you are more beautiful then, Alex mentioned." Alfred said as he kissed each girls hand in turn, like a proper gentlemen.

"So you think, I'm beautiful?" Buffy asked playfully, causing Xander to blush.

"Hey, you're british." Willow said, picking up his accent. "I wonder if you've ever met Giles?"

"Giles?" Alfred repeated with a frown. 'It can't be the same pillock.' he thought to himself.

"Hey, guys." Jesse said as he ran up to them out of breath. "Guess what I just heard in the office? No Dr. Gregory today. Ergo, those of us who blew off our science homework aren't as dumb as we look." (he was taking Dr. Gregory's class, a period before them.)

"What happened, is he sick?" Buffy asked concerned. He was the only teacher that she had, that believed in her.

"They didn't say anything about sick, something about missing." Jesse replied, scratching his head as if that act would help him to remember.

"He's missing?" Buffy asked fully concerned now. Whenever somebody turned up missing in Sunnydale, they would either never find their bodies or she would have to dust them.

"Well, let me think. Um, the cheerleaders were modeling their new short skirts, that kinda got... Yeah! Yeah, they said missing." he said hurriedly so they wouldn't think that he was a pervert.

Willow, Xander, and Buffy then exchanged a look.

"Is it a bad thing that he's not here?" Jesse asked confused. To him it was always a good thing when the teacher was absent. It meant that they would get a substitute.

"If something's wrong, yeah." Buffy said with a frown.

"He's one of the only teachers that doesn't think Buffy's a felon." Willow informed him.

"I'm sure you're all worrying for nothing." Alfred cut in. "He probably just took a day off."

"Yeah he's right." Jesse spoke up. "And who are you again?"

"Oh, sorry this is a family friend named... Wow." Xander said as he looked up and saw a breathtakingly beautiful brunette walking down the hall.

The group then looked up to see what was distracting him, and even Jesse and Alfred's mouth's dropped as they saw the woman. She then walked right up to Xander, who just stared at her.

"Could you help me?" the woman asked with a seductive flare.

"Uuuuuuhhhhhh... Yes." Xander replied with a squeak in his voice.

Willow and Buffy just gave each other amused looks.

"I'm looking for Science... 109."

"Oh! It's, um..." he stopped as he looked around himself, trying to remember the way. Not remembering he turned back to her and smiled. "I go there every day." he said causing the woman to chuckle and for him to look to the girls for help. "Oh, God, where is it?"

Willow and Buffy just shrug, just as Jesse took the woman by the arm.

"I...I can take you there." Jesse told her. "My names, Jesse by the way."

"It's nice to meet you Jesse, my name is Natalie." she said as she started to walk off. "It was a pleasure meeting you all." she said over her shoulder as the two turned down the hall.

"So much for the, Wayne charm." Alfred said as he put his hand on Xander's shoulder and smiled.

"Yeah, I go there every day." Buffy mimicked as they started to laugh.

"Laugh it up." Xander said with a pout. "And thanks for the help by the way."

"Ahh...stop being such a baby." Buffy told him with a smile. "Now come on let's check in with Giles."

As the four walked into the library, Alfred saw a man wearing tweed, putting away some books.

"Hey Giles." Buffy called out. And as the man turned around Alfred saw that it was his old enemy.

"Ripper." he muttered to himself as he ran up and punched Giles in the face. Before Buffy and the others could get to the two, Alfred was on top of Giles punching away at his fellow englishman's face.

"Alfred what the hell are you doing?" Xander asked as he pulled the older man away from Giles. He had never seen Alfred so angry, or for that matter knock somebody out.

"Giles are you okay?" Buffy asked as she helped him to his feet, while Willow retrieved his glasses and handed it to him.

"Bloody hell, why did you...Alfred?" Giles asked as he looked up.

Flashback

Birmingham, England

Many years before

A hospital room

"But, Father I don't want to become a butler." a young Alfred said as he held his father's hand and looked down upon him sadly. He had a terminally ill form of cancer and the doctor's feared that he wouldn't live for long. What was more heartbreaking was seeing how weak and tired his father looked. He had never looked like that before. He was always full of life.

"B...but you must, Alfred." his father begged weakly, as he coughed up blood. Spitting it out in his hankercheif, he continued. "It has been a...a Pennyworth family tradition as long as I can remember."

"But father..."

"No but's son." he replied as he squeezed Alfred's hand a little tighter. "I don't have long in this world son, but I can die happy knowing that you will carry on this tradition. P...please promise me."

"But..."

"Please...Alfred. Promise me."

"I promise." Alfred vowed as he lowered his head sadly.

"So what did your old man say?" Ripper Giles asked with a cigarrette bobbing out of his mouth, as Alfred walked out of his father's room. Even though Alfred was almost seven years older, he still wanted to join Giles' gang. 'Bloody stupid wanker.'

"He...he doesn't want me to leave the city." Alfred told him nervously. "He want's me to be a butler."

"A butler?" Ripper asked with raised eyebrows. "Did you hear that Ethan? His old man wants him to become a pancy ass butler?"

"I heard him mate." Ethan Rayne said as they both shared a hearty laugh.

"Listen, Al." Ripper said as he put an arm around Alfred's shoulder. "You have to stop letting people push you around. Take charge and be a man once in your life. Here." he said putting his cigarette in Alfred's hand. "I'll lead by example." he said as he stormed into Alfred's fathers room and closed the door.

After a few moments both Alfred and Ethan, heard Ripper's loud shouts coming from the other room. They were followed by some shouts from Alfred's father, that just abruptly stopped.

"Ethan, let's get out of here!" Ripper said nervously as he burst through the door with haunted eyes.

"But, I thought you were gonna give his father what for?" Ethan asked.

"Enough you ponce, let's go!" Giles roared. Retreiving his cig from Alfred, both he and Ethan left the hospital. Instantly figuring that something was wrong, Alfred walked into his father's room.

"Father?"

End Flashback

"When I walked into my father's room, I found him dead in his bed. All that shouting caused him to have a heart attack." Alfred finished telling the story, as he and the others sat around the library table.

"That's so sad." Willow said trying to keep from crying.

"Giles did you kill his father?" Buffy asked holding in tears of her own. She wasn't sure if she would ever trust Giles again. 'Especially if he's a murderer.'

"Of course not...I...I only argued with him and he passed out." Giles said as Jesse handed him a cold towel for his jaw. "I had no idea that the man was even that ill."

"Bloody liar." Alfred said as he was about to rise out of his seat, until Xander grabbed his shoulders. "I told Ethan to tell you that..."

"Ethan?" Giles asked. "That imbecile, he told me nothing of the sort."

Suddenly the school bell rang

"We have to get to class." Xander said as he stood to his feet. "Are you two gonna be okay alone?"

"Yes, Mas...Alex." Alfred said as he looked back at him. Xander made him swear not to call him master in front of his friends. "Me and Rupert just have some talking to do."

Later that day

Science class

Natalie was writing her name on the blackboard, just as Buffy, Willow and Xander walk into the room. Her foot hitting something as she entered, Buffy spotted Dr. Gregory's glasses on the floor and picked them up.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked as she noticed Buffy's far away look.

"Dr. Gregory dropped his glasses..." Buffy said coming out of her daze. "Why wouldn't he pick them up?" she said as she sat the glasses on the lab table and gave Natalie a glance as she  
walked to her stool.

"My name is Natalie French, and I will be substituting for Dr. Gregory." the older woman said as she faced the class.

"Do you know when he's coming back?" Buffy asked, almost urgently.

"No, I don't, um,..." she stopped to check her roster. "Buffy. They just call and tell me where they want me."

"I'll tell you where I want you." one of the students muttered lowly.

"Excuse me, Blayne?" Natalie asked as she looked over at him.

"Uh, I was just wondering if you were gonna pick up where Dr. Gregory left off." Blayne said lamely.

"Yes." Natalie beamed. "His notes tell me you were right in the middle of insect life." she said picking up a mantis mounted in a clear plastic box. "The praying mantis is a fascinating creature. Forced to live alone. Who can tell me why? Buffy?" she asked as she put the mantis on her desk.

"Well, the words 'bug-ugly' kinda spring to mind." Buffy joked, causing some of the other students to snicker.

"There is nothing ugly about these unique creatures." Natalie said defensively. "The reason they live alone is because they're cannibals!"

"Eww!" Buffy said as she scrunched up her nose. The other students seemed to share her sentiment, with equal looks of disgust.

"Oh, well, it's hardly their fault!" the teacher continued. "It's the way nature designed them: noble, solitary and prolific. Over 1800 species worldwide, and in nearly all of them the female is larger and more aggressive than the male."

"Nothing wrong with an aggressive female." Blayne whispered to Buffy, with a wink.

Buffy just angled her head and gave him a look, as Natalie picked up her notebook and started to walk around the room.

"The California Mantis lays her eggs, and then finds a mate..." she stopped to look at Xander with a certain sparkle in her eye, that he just couldn't turn away from. Even Buffy noticed the look between the two, even though it only lasted a second. "...to fertilize them. Once he's played his part, she covers the eggs in a protective sack and attaches it to a leaf or twig out of danger. Now, if she's done her job correctly, in a few months she'll have several hundred offspring."

"You know, we should make some model egg sacks for the science fair." Natalie said as she made her way to the front of the class and put down her notebook. "Who would like to help me do that after school?" she asked as she scanned the room.

And as she planned all the boys in the room raised their hands.

"Good." Natalie said pleased, as she picked out who she wanted it to be.

Later that day

The Cafeteria

Jesse and Willow smiled at one of Xander's dumb jokes, just as Buffy went over to get some utensils. As she walked back towards her table, Cordelia came in through the exit and bumped into her.

"Excuse you!" Cordelia said rudely, as she walked behind the counter, showing a piece of paper to the cafeteria workers. "Medically prescribed lunch. My doctor ships it daily... I'll only be here as long as I can hold my breath."

With that said she opened the large cafeteria refrigerator and screamed when she saw a headless body, upside down inside of it. Buffy, Jesse, and Willow ran to see what was wrong, just as Cordelia backed away from the fridge.

"His head! His head! Oh, my God, where's his head!" Cordy yelled hysterically.

Buffy, Willow, Jesse, and Xander stared in disbelief. Jesse was close behind Buffy and had to look away when he saw the body. Even Willow looked a little squeamish. Buffy nearly cried as she read the name on the body's lab coat. It was "Dr. Gregory".

The Library

Giles poured Alfred a cup of tea and after pouring himself some, he sat down across from him at the library table.

"Sugar?" Giles asked as he held up a spoon.

"No thank you." Alfred said as he took a sip of tea.

"I...I wanted to say that I was sorry." Giles said lowly as he took a sip of tea to calm his nerves. "I honestly didn't know the condition of your father. Had I have known..."

"Had you have known, what?" Alfred interrupted. "You wouldn't have yelled at him?"

"Alfred I..."

"I understand, Ripper." Alfred interrupted his apology again. "My father was in poor health for quite some time. So instead of hanging around with you and the other rift-raft I should have been spending time with him. This was as much my fault as it was yours."

Suddenly the library doors swung open, with the force to knock them off their hinges, and Willow, Jesse, Xander, and Buffy barged in.

"Buffy, what on earth is the matter?" Giles asked as he saw that she had been crying.

"Trouble." was all Buffy managed to get out.

A few minutes of explaining later

"Here. Drink this." Giles said as he handed Buffy a glass of water.

"No, thank you." Buffy said as she idly took the glass and took a sip anyway.

"I've never seen..." Jesse started trying to get the image out of his head, as Giles looked over at him. "I mean, I've never seen anything like... That was new." he said shaken.

"Who would wanna hurt Dr. Gregory?" Willow asked as she took the glass of water from Buffy and took a sip.

"Uh, he didn't have any enemies on the staff that I'm aware of." Giles spoke up. "He was a civilized man. I liked him."

"So did I." Buffy said sadly.

"Well, we're gonna find out who did this." Willow said with ditermination as she looked up at Giles. "We'll find them and we'll stop them."

"Count on it." Buffy agreed.

"What do we know?" Giles asked.

"Oh, not a lot, um..." Buffy said as she sniffed and wiped a tear from her nose. "He  
was killed here on campus. I'm guessing the last day we saw him."

"How do you work that out?" he asked.

"He didn't change his clothing."

As Jesse joined into the conversation, Alfred pulled Xander over to the side.

"I'm going back to your manor. Report back anything that we can use to start an investigation."

"Gotcha." Xander replied as he watched Alfred leave and turned back to Giles' conversation.

"I'm not certain he did." Giles continued with his lecture. "There was an incident two nights ago..." he stopped as he walked over to the counter, picked up a newspaper and returned with it. " ...uh, involving a homeless person in Weatherly Park. He was practically shredded, but, uh, nothing like Dr. Gregory."

"Fork Guy doesn't do heads?" Buffy asked as she looked at the paper.

"Not historically."

"And Dr. Gregory's blood wasn't drained."

"So there's something else out there? Besides Silverwareman?" Jesse asked. "Oh, this is fun, we're on Monster Island."

"We're on a Hellmouth. It's a center of mystical convergence. Guess it's the same thing." Buffy said as she sat on the edge of the library table.

"Well, unpleasant things do gravitate here, it's true, but, uh, we don't know there's anything besides this chap." Giles informed her. "He's still our likely suspect."

"Where was that guy killed?" Buffy asked thinking. "Weatherly Park?"

"Buffy." Giles said noticing a certain look in her eye. "I know you're upset, but, uh, this is no time to go hunting, not until we know more. Please promise me you won't do anything rash?"

"Cross my heart." Buffy lied. And for some reason Xander knew it and that's why he decided to stay close to her tonight. Not as himself, but as the Batman.

* * *

Batman clung to the shadows, as he silently followed Buffy. It still amazed him that she had supernatural powers and could track almost any kind of demon, but couldn't tell that an ordinary human was following her.

"I might as well go home." he heard Buffy mutter in frustration. As he was about to make sure she got home okay, he suddenly heard a rustling of trees. Turning, he was just able to avoid a lunge by a vampire with a fork for a hand.

"I guess you're the guy." Batman muttered to himself as the two squared off.

"By orders of the Master, you will die." the forked vampire said as he tried to pounce on Batman.

'God, can't these creeps come up with something more original?' Batman asked himself as he jumped backward.

He then slammed his straight arm into the vamps gut, then again into his back. The vamp swung again, but Batman dodged him, backhand punched him in the face, did a roundhouse kick to his jaw and backhand punched him in the face again. The vamp desperately took another swing at him, but he evaded it and he front kicked him. With a growl of frustration he lunged at the caped crusader again, only for him to grab his arm and flip him over onto his back.

"You said the Master is after me?" Batman asked as he loomed over the fallen vampire. "Why?"

"I want tell you anything." it replied as it did a fancy spinning move to get back to his feet and sprint away.

"Wrong choice." Batman said with a sigh, as he reached into his utility belt. As the vamp tried to climb over a chain linked fence, a batarang stabbed him through the back and he crumbled into dust. 'I'll just have to find out the hard way.'

With his job done for the night, Batman turned on his heel and melted into the darkness. If he had of stayed a second longer, he would have seen a beautiful brunette watching him.

"Interesting." Natalie French said to herself.

Science Class

The next day

"Keep your eyes straight ahead on your own test." Natalie said as she walked down the aisle and came up behind Xander. Making sure everyone was doing their pop quiz, she whispered into his ear.

"I think you meant 'pollination' for number fourteen." she said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you here after school."

"Oh, great, a pop quiz." Buffy said as she looked through the door window. She couldn't believe that she was late again.

Natalie suddenly straightened up and Buffy witnessed as she turned her head around 180 degrees. Her eyes went wide with amazement and she quickly ran away from the window.

The Library

"No, I'm not saying she craned her neck." Buffy was saying to Willow as they walked into the room. "We are talking full-on Exorcist twist."

"Ouch."

"Which reminds me, where's Jesse? I haven't seen him since he was supposed to be helping Miss French last night."

"I'll call his mom." Willow said as she walked towards Giles office. "Oh hi, Alfred." she said noticing him coming out of the stacks with a book in his hands.

"Good, morning my dear."

"Any luck?" Buffy asked Giles as Alfred sat down in front of the PC to begin his own research.

"No, not yet."

"Try looking under things that can turn their heads all the way around." Buffy said to Alfred as she came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"Nothing human can do that." Giles commented.

"No, nothing human." Buffy said thinking. "But there are some insects that can. Whatever she is, I'm gonna be ready for her."

'A Preying Mantis can do that.' Alfred thought to himself. "I must return to the manor and check on a few things." Alfred said as he stood to his feet. "I'll check in shortly." he said before quickly leaving the room.

"I just called Jesse's mom." Willow said as she emerged out of Giles' office. "She said he never came home last night."

The science classroom.

"Hi." Xander said to Miss French as he walked into her room.

"Oh, Hi." she replied as she put down a container she was about to open. "I was just grabbing a snack. Can I fix you something?"

"No thanks, I never... eat when I'm making egg sacks." he joked as he saw the model, she was working on. "Wow, if this were real the bugs would be..."

"...as big as you." she finished for him.

"Yeah! So! Where do we start?"

"Oh, Xander! I've done something really stupid." she said as she stood to her feet. I hope you can forgive me."

"Oh, forgiveness is my middle name." he assured her. "Well, actually it's LaVelle, and I'd appreciate it if you guard that secret with your life." he said as they both chuckled.

"I have a teacher's conference in half an hour, and I left the paint and papier-mâché at home. I don't suppose you'd like to come to my place tonight to work on it there?"

"Come to, uh... your place?" he asked as he swallowed hard.

"7:30? Here's my address." she said as she wrote it down and handed it to him. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah!" Xander replied in a high squeaky voice, as he walked out of the room.

Smiling in satisfaction and still starving Natalie opened the container and it was full of  
crickets. She dumped them onto the buttered bread, folded the slice in half and took a loud crunchy bite.

Natalie's House

Later that night

Natalie poured two martinis and smiled to herself at her dazzling dress that showed lots of cleavage. Suddenly the doorbell rang and lowering her top a bit more, she walked over and opened it.

"Hi!" she said as she saw Xander. "Come on in."

'My God.' Xander thought to himself as he stared at her cleavage and walked in. 'Those things are as big as mountains.'

"Should I change?" she asked noticing his stare as she closed the door. "Is, is this too..."

"No, no, it's, the most beautiful chest... dress I've ever seen."

With a smile she went back into the living room, while Xander followed.

"Thank you. That's sweet. Martini?" she asked as she offered him one. "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like something else?" she said knowing that he would take it anyway to impress her. And as she thought Xander quickly accepted the drink.

"My dad let's me drink these all the time." Xander lied.

"I just need to relax a little, I'm kinda nervous around you." she said with a laugh, as she sat down. "You're probably cool as a cucumber!"

"I like cucumbers. Like in that Greek salad thing with the yogurt. Do you like Greek food? I'm exempting Schwarma, of course, I mean, what's that all about? It's a big meat hive."

'Oh God, just let me be quiet and play it cool.' he thought to himself.

They laughed, him nervously, her playfully. Xander then gulped some of the martini.

"Hhhhhhho! Hello!" he said as the alcohol hit.

"Cheers!" Natalie said as she clinked their glasses. 'It want be long now.' "Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked as she put her glass down and got a little closer to Xander. "Have you ever been with a woman before?"

"You mean, like, in, uh, the same room?" he asked feeling a little woozy.

"You know what I mean."

"Oh, that, uh... Well, let me think. Um..." he stopped as she ran her fingers through his hair and around his ear. "Yeah, I'm a Wayne so there was, uh... several. I mean, and, uh, quite a few times... And then there was, uh... Oh, she was incredibly... No. Uh-uh."

"I know. I can tell." Natalie said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"You can?" Xander asked.

"Oh, I like it. You might say, I... need it."

"Oh! Well, needs should, uh, y'know... Needs should definitely be met, as long as it doesn't require ointments the next day, or..." he stopped talking as he heard muffled yelling from somewhere in the house. "Do you hear..."

"No..." she said quickly.

"Sounds like someone crying..." he said straining to hear. 'Something strange is going on here.'

"I don't hear anything." she said as she took his hand. "Your hands are so hot!" she said noticing that the drink was beginning to affect him, because he started to lean back heavier on the couch.

"Wow! So that's a martini, huh?"

"Mm-hmm." she said simply as she took the glass away from him.

"Do you hear..."

"Would you like to touch me with those hands?" she interrupted.

"Your hands are sss... really... serrated." he said as her hands started to morph. "Oh, wow, that martini, I... I really think I have to..." and that was the last thing he was able to say as he fell to the floor unconscious. Morphing all the way she started to drag him away by his feet.

Wayne Manor

"Got it. Coroner's report, complete with... ewww ...color pictures." Diana said as she typed into her computer.

"As you can see there are teeth marks." Alfred said as he pointed at the picture. "Which match perfectly with the one insect that nips off its prey's head."

"Okay, I-I don't like this." Diana said as she looked back at him.

"It's the way they feed, head first. It's also the way they mate. The female bites off the male's head while they're..."

"Wait didn't you say that Xander was going to her house?"

"Bloody hell." Alfred said angrily. "I completely forgot to tell that boy, to stir clear of her."

"We shouldn't have to worry about him, to much do we?" Diana asked. "It says here that the She-Mantis demons only want to mate with virgins. And from what I know about Xander, he can't be a virgin, right?" she said as they shared a look.

"I'm going to check his coat for her address." Alfred said as he started to walk out of the room. "Record a tape of a bat shrieking and if I find her address use the voice analyzer to disguise your voice and call Rupert."

Natalie's basement.

Xander finally woke up from the drug Natalie slipped into his drink, backed up in his cage and was surprised to see Jesse when he reached the far corner.

"Jesse?"

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" Jesse said terrified as he curled up into a ball.

"Are you all right?"

"Oh, God!" Jesse said letting out a breathe. "You gotta get me outta here! You gotta!  
She, she, she gets you, and, uh..."

"What?"

" ...she, she..."

"What does she do?"

"Oh, God! Oh, oh, no!"

"Jesse!" Xander yelled out. "What does she do?" he asked again.

"She, she... she, she takes you outta the cage, and she ties you up, and, and... she... she starts movin', and throbbin', and these eggs come shootin' out of her! And then..."

"What?"

"And then..." Jesse let out a little whimper.

"Then what?" Xander asked fearfully.

"She mates with you!" Jesse finished his sentence. He knew first hand what went on, because he saw what happened to Blayne, when he had arrived.

"Sheeee..."

"That's not the worst part!" Jesse interrupted.

"That's not?"

"You seen her teeth?" Jesse asked. "Right while she's, you know, right in the middle of... I saw her do it! I don't wanna die like that!"

"Jesse! Jesse! Chill! It's okay. It's gonna be okay. We'll get outta this." Xander said trying to calm down his friend.

"You gotta plan?" Jesse asked hopefully. "What is it?"

"Just, uh, let me perfect it!"

"Oh, God... Oh, God... Oh, God..." Jesse said as he lost that hope and started to rock back and forth.

* * *

"Hello." Willow said into Giles' ringing phone. "What...who are you? No she isn't here she's... but okay, I'll tell Giles." she said as she hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Giles asked as he appeared out of the stacks, with a book. Willow had found an address for Miss French andGiles had sentBuffy there to destroy her.

"I don't know, but whoever it was said that we were heading in the wrong direction."

"What?" Giles asked as he put down his book.

"They gave me the real address for Miss French, she's a She-Mantis, we should record some bat-sonar, and that it has Xander."

"Who has Xander?" Buffy asked as she walked into the room.

"Uh Miss French. Whomever was speaking to Willow on the phone called her a She-Mantis. This type of creature, the Kleptes-Virgo, or, or virgin-thief, appears in, in many cultures. The Greek sirens, the Celtic sea maidens, who, who tore the living flesh from the bones of, um..."

"Giles, while we're young!" Buffy cut in.

"Uh, well, basically the, uh, the She-Mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest."

"But why would she want, Xander?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, you're right." Buffy said thinking. "That would mean that he's still a ..."

"But all those girls he's been with..."

"He's never had sex with them." Buffy said, for some reason a little relieved.

"That's very fascinating." Giles said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh right, I have to do the whole super hero thing." Buffy said as she got the address from Willow, went to the weapons cabinet, and then took off into a run.

"I'll be there shortly with the tape." Giles called after her. "And please Buffy be careful and don't do anything rash." then he thought about his own words as he looked at Willow. "I had better finish that tape quickly." he said aloud as he moved over to his desk.

* * *

"Damn, they said Buffy wasn't there." Diana said to Alfred as he walked up behind her.

"I fear if we don't get to him in time, that he'll perish." Alfred said as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Get dressed."

"What?" she asked giving him a look.

"Wear something all black and grab one of Master Alex's leather long coats." Alfred told her.

"But..."

"Please, if we don't get to him in time, he's done for." Alfred said as he gave her a sad look. "Don't worry, I'll watch over Selina. Now go!"

After running upstairs to get something and hitting two notes on the grand piano in the living room, Diana went into the Batcave and quickly got dressed. As she emerged five minutes later from the secret room, she quickly ran into the main room of the Batcave and back to Alfred.

"How do I look?" she asked as she turned around. She was wearing a skin tight form fitting all black catsuit(from her time as a prostitute), black dock martin boots, Xander's leather long coat that was a just the right size, the utility belt from the Batman costume that was too big but sat on an angle on her hip, and a black almost Zorro type of mask from a halloween costume from Selina.

"Splendid, now here's the tape." Alfred said as he handed it to her. "I assume you know how to drive the Tumbler so just take it and please be careful."

With that she jumped into the Tumbler, made the jump from the cave entrance, that was hidden behind a waterfall, and sped off into the night.

"And bring Alex home safe." he muttered to himself as he sat down in his chair heavily.

Natalie's basement

"Don't do anything to make her mad." Jesse warned Xander, as his friend pulled a bar off of his cage.

"Hey, alright, now I can get outta my cage." Jesse said brightly, until he saw where it led. "Into yours. What'd you do that for?"

"A weapon." Xander said as he spun the bar around as if it were a ninja bo.

"I think you're gonna need it." Jesse said with a gulp as he saw Natalie beast coming.

Following his line of vision Xander saw a giant Preying Mantis walking down the stairs. With wide eyes he dropped the bar he was holding and took a step back.

"Oh, God." Jesse said as he went through the hole into Xander's cage. "Uh, he did that, he broke the cage, take him, not me, take him."

'So much for friendship and nobility.' Xander thought to himself. "What's she doing?" he said as she started to look back and forth between them.

"I think it's eeny, meeny, miney..."

"Moe?" Xander finished for him as she opened the door to the cage. With a heavy sigh Xander crawled out on his butt, bar in hand.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." he said and with a lightning quick move he swung the bar and hit Natalie as he got up. Staggering back from the attack, he was just about to hit her again, when she raised her claw, caught the bar, and used it to hit Xander hard over the head. The force of the blow sent him into a world of darkness.

Before Natalie could reach down and a pick him up, Buffy suddenly smashed through the basement window and slid in, pulling her bag as she did so.

"Let him go!" Buffy yelled as she ran down the stairs and sat the bag down, pulled two cans of insect spray from the bag and sprayed Natalie in the face. Seeing that the insecticide was hurting her, Buffy dropped the can's and raised up her machete, only for Natalie to knock it away with a taloned hand.

Knocking Buffy to the ground, Natalie stood over her about to deliver a final blow, until out of nowhere the basement door exploded off of it's hinges. As the dust started to settle, both Natalie and Buffy looked up only to see a woman wearing a mask and dressed all in black, stepping through the entrance.

"Mind if I join the party?" the lady asked as she looked around the room and saw Xander's crumbled body. "Xander." she muttered to herself as she ran down the stairs.

Using the masked woman's appearance as a distraction, Buffy turned her attention back on Natalie and did a flip to get back to her feet. Natalie tried to cut Buffy's legs off, but she jumped over her claw, just as Jesse came up next to her with a can of bug spray and sprayed it into Natalie's face. Buffy pushed him away from danger, and Natalie took the opportunity to knock her down. Buffy raised herself onto her hands and one leg, and with the other did two crouching side kicks to Natalie's legs to keep her at bay.

"Xander, are you okay?" Diana asked as she finally made it over to him and put his head in her lap.

"Di...Diana?" Xander asked as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "What are you...what's going on?"

"Alfred sent me." she informed him as he sat up. "He said he wanted me to make sure that you were safe."

Looking back they saw Buffy kick the giant She-mantis again. And seeing the machete on the floor she jumped over and grabbed it.

"Almost forgot." Diana said as she reached into her duster pocket and pulled out a tape recorder. Standing to her feet, she played the tape and a horrible whining sound filled the air. The sounds of bat sonar severely hurt and disoriented Natalie, causing her to shriek and flail her claws around.

"Bat sonar." Buffy said as twirled the machete in her hand. "Makes your whole nervous system go to Hell. You can go there with it." with that said she started to slash at Natalie fiercely and repeatedly with the machete, hacking her to pieces. As she finished, she dropped the machette slightly winded from the fight.

"It looks like my job is done for tonight." Diana said as she walked up next to Buffy and stared down at the dismembered insect body.

"Wait, who are you?" Buffy asked as she grabbed the masked woman's arm. 'I'm so getting tired of masked freaks getting in my business.' she thought to herself.

"The names...Batwoman." Diana said as she knee'd Buffy in the stomach and threw a gas bomb, from her utility belt, to the floor.

As Buffy looked up through the haze of smoke, she saw Batwoman running up the stairs, with her duster billowing dramatically behind her. As she was about to persue her, Xander grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Just let her be, Buffy." Xander said with a cough from all the gas. "Let's just go home."

Wayne Manor

Later that night

"I'm sorry again for what I said back in that basement." Jesse apologized. "I was just so scared and I didn't want her doing anything to me."

"It's cool man." Xander said as the two shook hands. "Now you better get home, I bet your mom is worried sick about you."

"I'll drive you there." Alfred spoke up with luggage in his hands as he and Diana appeared from the other room. "Just wait for me in the jag." he said as he tossed Jesse the car keys. With a squeal of happiness, Jesse ran for the door. "And don't touch anything!" Alfred yelled after him.

"You're leaving already?" Xander asked, sadly.

"Yes my boy." Alfred said as he put his hands on Xander's shoulders. "Your father seems to get in alot of trouble when I'm not around."

"I just called Giles and told him what was going on." Buffy said as she walked into the room and saw Diana. "Hey don't I know you?"

"Um...I'm Xander's personnal assistant, Diana." Diana said as she held her hand out for Buffy to shake.

"So the little girl I spoke to earlier was your daughter?" Buffy asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. For some reason she didn't like Diana. She couldn't figure out if it was because she knew her from somewhere before or that she was totally hot and living with Xander. 'Wait where did that thought come from?' Buffy asked herself.

"Yes, that's Selina my eight year old."

"Hey, maybe she and my sister can be friends." Buffy said coming out of suspicious mode. "We just moved here recently and the only person she's met is a girl called Janice."

"Miss Summers." Alfred said before Diana could answer. "It's getting rather late and it would be an honor for me to escort you home."

"Oh man it's almost mid-night my mom's gonna kill me." Buffy said as she ran to the door. "I'll see you later Xander...Diana."

"That reminds me." Alfred said as he saw Buffy run outside. "Master Bruce told me to tell you, to be expecting your punishment by the end of the year."

"Punishment?" Xander asked with raised eyebrows. "Punishment for what?"

"For almost getting him exposed as the Batman." Alfred told him as he walked to the door.

"Wait at least give me a hint, about what my punishment is gonna be." Xander said. He had thought that his father had forgiven him for that.

"Let's just say, be expecting some company." Alfred said with a smile. "Goodbye, Master Alexander." he said as he walked out of the door.

"Like today couldn't get any worse." Xander said as he sat down on his living room couch. Now he had to worry about getting a punishment from his father.

"Hey at least you're still alive." Diana replied as she sat down next to him.

"Thanks to you." Xander said with his patented lopsided grin. "You looked great by the way. Any chance Batwoman will reprise her role as my sidekick?"

"Oh... no. I'm not putting that outfit on again. I'll leave the crime fighting to you." she informed him. "Wait, what do you mean sidekick?" she asked as she hit him across the head with a pillow as he chuckled.

"I am worried about one thing though." Xander said getting serious for a moment. "Why is the Master after me?"

The Master's Cave

Sametime

"It would have been nice to have recieved some help from my ally." The Master said as he sat down heavily on his throne like chair. That last assassin that he had sent against Batman, was one of the best. But even he failed.

"Actually I've been thinking of a way to get rid of the Bat and the Slayer." the Mayor said as he took a plastic baggy, with a bloody playing card in it, out of his pocket. "I've contacted a few friends of mine and we're gonna have a little benefit party in LA. This man will be our guest of honor." he said as he handed the baggy over to the Master.

The Master could only smile, as he flipped the playing card over only to find it to be a bloody Joker card.

A/N I originally planned for Alfred to have a daughter and for Giles to have killed her somehow in the flashback instead of Alfred's father. Also the Joker will be in the next chapter.

And to anybody that was wondering, I'm thinking about doing a sequel to my story The End of the Knight. I hate doing sequels but I got a lot of emails and reviews saying that they hated the ending. Like I said I'm still thinking about making a new story, or at least an alternate ending.

TBC...

Please Review...


	10. Chapter 9 The Clown Prince

A/N I thought the anointed one was one of the worst story lines ever on BTVS. But for the stories sake, let's just say that the night he was supposed to be bitten Xander and Cordelia were on a date together (the one Xander promised her) and they saw a bus overturned. Seeing some vampires in the distance, Xander fought them off and slayed them. Saving the people and Collin from a bad storyline.

So basically this is after the events Never Kill a boy on the First Date.

Also thanks for the reviews. To BAKAMAN, you really hate Buffy don't you? lol

To Anthony1, things are gonna get hairy for Xander and the gang, so Diana might have to reprise her role as Batwoman. And no if I do use her like that again she's gonna have a different outfit. And I have a guest superhero about to appear to help clean out Sunnydale.

And to kuramalovergirl, thanks for the review. How do you like the changes to canon and this fanfic so far.

Chapter 9

The Clown Prince

The Master's Cave

"I understand how you plan to lure the Slayer to Los Angeles." The Master was saying as he paced around his cave with his hands behind his back. "But how do you plan to lure Batman out there?"

"Well according to my sources, the Slayer and the Batman have been seen together on several occasions." Mayor Wilkins said, never taking his eyes off of his enemy/ally. "I think they have formed an alliance and if the slayer is in trouble." he said with a shrug. "Who do you think is going to help her?"

"Los Angeles is over two hours away." the Master replied as he looked at the mayor. "Even if Batman did get wind of the Slayer being in trouble, he would never get to her in time."

"Even if he doesn't, Miss Summer's is still going to die along with her little friends. With her and her friends out of the way, Batman is going to be easier pickings."

"Is it just me or are you a little more devious than when we first met?"

"I just have a better writer." Mayor Wilkins said with a shrug.

"What?" the Master asked as he sat down in his chair.

"I didn't say anything." Mayor Wilkins said as he turned to leave. "I'll see myself out." he called over his shoulder. With a nod to one of his minions, the vampire in question stalked after the mayor to keep tabs on him, as the Master sat back and glared in the darkness.

Wayne Manor

Thursday night

"But Alfred I don't see why... but...oh come on is this part of dad's punishment?" Xander asked into the phone. "Okay, I'll do it." he said as he put down the reciever.

"Who was that on the phone?" Diana asked as she and Selina walked into the room.

"That was Alfred." Xander said as he leaned back heavily in his chair. "He said that there's a charity function in LA to raise money for the LAPD. My dad is busy so he wants me to go there in his place, to make a speech and donate the money."

"Well what's wrong with that?" Diana asked confused.

"Have you ever been to one of those charity functions?" Xander asked increduously. "They're so boring and the speeches..." he stopped as the phone suddenly rang. "Hello. Hey Buff... really, I'm going to the same benefit on behalf of my dad. Okay, I'll ask her...see you there." he said as he hung up the phone.

"That was Buffy. She said that she won a sweepstakes and is going to spend two days and two nights in LA."

"Don't you find it odd that all of you would be out of town at the same time?" Diana asked.

"I agree with you." Xander said as Selina sat on his lap. "That's why I'm taking my special car down there."

"Can I come too?" Selina asked.

"Actually, I was hoping that you could stay down here." Xander told her. "Buffy said she's taking her mom to LA with her but, they don't have a babysitter for Dawn, Buffy's little sister."

"So you want me to babysit?" Diana asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Please." Xander said with a pout. "It's only for about a day or two. If you do it for me all you have to do is name something and I'll do it for you."

"Please mommy." Selina said joining in. "I want to meet a new friend."

"Fine." Diana said in a huff. "But you owe me big Xander Wayne."

The next day

"Hi."

"Hi." a nine year old Dawn greeted back to Selina as the two ran off together in Xander's house.

"Thanks for agreeing to take care of Dawn on such short notice." Joyce said to Diana as she looked up at her.

"Not a problem, I like children."

"You know you're nothing like Buffy told me you would be."

"Oh and what did Buffy say about me?" Diana asked amused.

"Well from what she told me, I thought you would be alot older and...large." Joyce said looking her up and down. Seeing the scowl on Diana's face, Joyce changed the subject. "So where's Xander? Isn't he coming with us?"

"Actually he told me to tell you that he would meet you all there. He said something about getting there ahead of time for the fundraiser."

"That sounds responsible of him." Joyce replied as the limo driver suddenly blew his horn. "My chariot awaits." she said as she looked over her shoulder. "Thanks again for keeping Dawn, I'll see you soon." she said as she ran out the door.

"Oh, yeah." Diana muttered to herself as she thought about what Buffy had said about her. "You owe me big Xander." she said as she closed the door. She still didn't understand why Buffy was so jealous of her and Xander. "Unless...nah." she said to herself.

LA Police Banquet

Hours later

"I don't care what you say, they need to go to jail." a brute of a man was saying to a beautiful blonde, in the huge banquet hall.

"Dad come on the both of them are heroes." the blonde replied to her father.

"The both of them are vigilantes." her father said almost angrily. "And nobody is above the law."

"Ah the Lockley's, I've finally found you two." Commissioner Mervins said as he walked up to them. "There's somebody I want you two to meet." he said as a tuxedo wearing Xander came up behind him. "Kate, Trevor this is Bruce Wayne's eldest child Alexander Wayne, Alex this is Trevor and his beautiful daughter Kate Lockley. They're some of the best damn officers on the force."

"It's nice to meet you both." Xander said as he firmly shook the hands with the both of them.

"Maybe you can put some sense into my daughter's head." Trevor said giving Xander a look.

"Dad, I'm sure Mr. Wayne..."

"Xander." Xander cut her off.

"What?" Kate asked as she looked over at him.

"My dad is Mr. Wayne, I like to be called Xander."

"Well, I'm sure Xander doesn't want to be bored to death with our discussion." Kate finished.

'Lady you don't know the half of it.' Xander thought to himself. "Now what was the question?"

"My question was..."

"Daddy..."

"My question was do you think the Batman should be in custody?" Trevor asked as he put his hand up to silence his daughter.

"Even with all the help Batman's been giving he's still a vigilante." Xander said with a shrug. "Besides a guy in a bat costume clearly has issues."

"See a boy after my own heart." Trevor said as he grabbed Xander from the side and squeezed his arm.

'Yeah a boy.' Kate thought to herself. 'A boy like you always wanted, instead of having a little girl. Instead of having me.' she thought as she plastered a false smile on her face.

"Hey, I see some friends of mine." Xander said as he took Trevor Lockley's hand off his shoulder. "I'll catch up with you guys later." he said as he walked off.

"You see Kate." Trevor said as he looked in the direction that Xander was going. "At least I got somebody who agrees with me on something."

"Hey, you guys look great." Xander said, especially looking at Buffy, who was wearing a form fitting red dress. Willow was wearing a black almost prom looking dress, Joyce a stunning white dress, and Jesse with a tuxedo similar to his own.

"Thank's you're looking very 007 yourself." Buffy said giving him an appraising glance. As soon as they had gotten to the hotel in LA, the clothes were already layed out for them on thier beds. They were along with a mandatory set of ticket's telling them that they had to be at the banquet. 'God he looks good in that tux and that slicked back hair...'

"Well it's nice to finally meet you." Joyce said to Xander as she stood in front of Buffy. She hated when guys eye molested her daughter. 'Even if they were filthy rich.'

"The same here, Miss Summers." Xander said as he took Joyce's hand and kissed it.

'Miss Summers.' Buffy thought to herself. 'Why is it when he says that it reminds me of somebody else. It's almost like he's...'

"I see the legendary Wayne charm rubbed off on his son." Joyce said, cutting off Buffy's inner dialogue, with a slight blush.

"Hey, I think I just saw a few movie stars here." Cordelia said as she walked up to them.

"Cordy, what are you doing here?" Xander asked, quickly taking his eyes off of her cleavage and the her shapely legs, that were showing because of her skimpy dress. Even though, Cordelia didn't realize it, Buffy did.

"A social gathering this size?" Cordelia said with a grin. "Did you really think anybody could keep me away?"

"I had an extra ticket and Giles didn't want to come so I gave it to Cordelia." Buffy said causing Cordelia to pout at being embarressed. Before she could come up with a comeback, a speaker went to the podium and announced that Xander was up next to give his speech and to donate some money.

"I'm up." Xander said. And as he walked up to the stage little did he know, but two very bad things were about to happen in his life.

Wayne Manor

Sunnydale

"That was a fun game." Selina laughed as the two finished playing hide and go seek, with Selina's mom.

"Yeah." Dawn laughed right back as she walked by a door, she didn't remember seeing before. "Hey, what's in here?" Dawn asked as she started to open the door.

"No Dawn." Selina said as she grabbed her friends hand. "Uncle Xander and my mom told me never to go in that room."

"But they never told me." Dawn said with a mischevious smile as she opened the door and walked in. It was a room more lavish than the others, but with the exception of having a grand piano in it. "It's just a piano room." Dawn said as she looked back at Selina. "Why wouldn't your mom and uncle want you to come in here?"

"I don't know, but I don't think we should be in here." Selina replied frightfully. 'Something about this just doesn't seem right.'

"Stop being such a baby and besides your mom is asleep." Dawn said as she crept into the room. And feeling a little thrill run through her, Selina followed her.

"Wow, this is a nice piano." Dawn said as the both of them sat down on the piano bench. "I always wanted to learn how to play." she said as she played a few notes.

"I already do." Selina said as she cracked her little knuckles and leaned onto the piano. Dawn could only watch in amazement as Selina's fingers, glided across the keys expertly. She was playing Beethoven's piano sonata no.14 in C sharp minor.

"How do you know how to play like that?" Dawn asked, making Selina stop playing and look over at her.

"I've been playing since I was three. When my daddy saw that I liked playing on the piano at my daycare, he took me to get lessons." Selina said sadly.

"C...can you teach me how to play?" Dawn asked, not noticing her friends sad look.

"Yeah." Selina replied as Dawn hit two sour notes. "You really do need to learn." Selina joked as they suddenly heard a rumbling sound.

Looking up they saw part of the far wall go up, revealing a caged elevator. Giving each other a look they walked up to it and got inside.

"Dawn, I'm not..."

"Oh stop whining and come on." Dawn said as she grabbed her arm. "You can't tell me that you're not the lest bit curious about what's going on?"

"My mom told me that curiousity killed the cat." Selina said as she tried to back out of the elevator. Giving her a dramatic roll of her eyes at that old saying, Dawn held onto her arm and pushed the down button on the elevator.

With a scream from both of them, as the elevator started it's freefall, their hearts thumped as they made it to the bottom.

"What a ride." Dawn commented as the door swung open by itself.

"Maybe we should..."

"Stop trying to get out of this Selina." Dawn whirled on her new friend. "You can't go this far and not go further, now come on."

As they walked through the half lit room, Dawn heard the steady rhythm of machines and computers and, the sound a distant screech of a bat.

"What is this place?" Dawn asked as she looked around.

"I don't know." Selina replied as she bumped into something. Turning around, she let out a blood curdling scream as she saw a giant bat in front of her, making her fall to the floor and whimper.

"It's...it's okay." Dawn said as she found and flicked on the light switch, illuminating the room. "It's...it's just a costume." she said looking at it through it's glass case.

"But...but I don't understand." Selina said as Dawn helped her to her feet. "Why would uncle Xander have a costume of a bat under his house?"

Then both of their eyes widened as they both realized it at the sametime.

"My uncle's..."

"The Batman." Dawn finished for her.

Outside of the Police Banquet

"Come on Harley, get the led out, let's go!" the Joker shouted out as he loaded his pistol. He hadn't been this excited in months. First he found out that there was another Batman that he could torment and then his old mob bosses, Richard Wilkins had called him and told him that the bat might show up here. And since it was a banquet none of the cops would be carrying guns.

"Coming puddin'." Harley replied as she turned a corner with fifteen thugs, that they had broken out from Arkham Asylum, before they had come to LA.

"Good now I want you to leave for Sunnydale."

"But..."

"Just go!" he yelled out irratated. With a pout Harley walked away with her head down. 'Mister J, never let's me have any fun.'

As they walked up to the entrance, over twenty men stepped out in front of them.

"If you buffoons know what's good for you then step out of the way." the Joker warned. For some reason he felt strangely angrier than normal.

"Yes, sir we know who you are." the lead man said as he got down on bended knee. "We're a gift from the Master." he said as he slipped into his vampiric visage. The inmates looked at the rest of the vampires nervously, but the Joker just looked at them as if it were an everyday occurence.

"The Massa'?" The Joker asked in a southern slave tongue. "Well golly me." he said with a short laugh as the vamps fell in line with him and the other inmates. "Well boy's." the Joker said putting away his pistol as he reached into his car and grabbed a machine gun. "Let's crash a party."

"And in closing, me and my father who's absent right now are proud to donate..." Before Xander could finish his speech, the front door exploded off of it's hinges causing shouts, panic, and cries throughout the crowd.

Looking up from the podium he was speaking from, Xander saw an army of men, some of them were vampires, storm into the room. And what was worse, he also saw...

"The Joker." Xander said lowly to himself as the Joker started to shoot a few rounds of bullets into the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen could I have your attention please." the Joker said as he stopped shooting and walked fully into the room. His army only a step behind. With a nod of his head, some of the vampires moved off to secure the entrances and exits.

As the Joker started talking, Xander jumped from off of the stage and ran over to Buffy and his friends.

"We're so gonna die." Cordelia said as she saw the Joker shoot somebody who refused to hand over their jewelry.

"No we're not." Buffy said as she started to scan the room. "We just have to find a way out of here."

"Over there." Jesse said as he pointed further down the room. "The Joker only has one vamp guarding the door. I say we make a break for it there."

"Good eye. Xander do you think you can take out that vamp?" Buffy asked.

"No problem." Xander said as he looked over at the giant brute. "But what about you?"

"I have to stay and help, until the rest of the cops can get here with guns."

"Like hell you are." Joyce said as she grabbed Buffy by the arm and whirled her around. "Buffy, I don't know what's going on but you're definately not staying here."

"Miss Summers, I can explain everything." Xander said as he grabbed her by the elbow, making her turn around and glare at him. "Sorry." he said as he let go of her arm. "But Buffy can handle things here. You have to trust us."

"Mom, we're running out of time." Buffy said as she looked back and saw the Joker coming closer to where they were. "Just go!"

Against her better judgement, Joyce ran up behind the others.

"Now, let's see if we can make this a fair fight." Buffy muttered to herself as she pulled a stake out of her purse and dodged calmly into the crowd.

* * *

"Kate here." Officer Lockley said as he handed his daughter a glock. He was prepared for everything. "I just paged for back up, so let's get in position and wait for back up." he said as he crouched down low to find a hiding place. His daughter right behind him.

* * *

"Excuse me sir, is this the way out?" Xander asked, only for the vamp to take a swing at him.

Ducking under the punch, Xander rapid fired punched him in the chest. Unharmed by the attack, the enormous vampire grinned and slowly swung again, but Xander caught his fist, kicked the big man's knee out an, as he went down on his knees, booted him in the face. With a flick of his wrist, a stake popped out of a hidden compartment and he stabbed the brute through the heart.

"Did...did everybody else see that man turn into dust?" Joyce asked with wide eyes.

"Just come on." Xander yelled as he grabbed her by the arm and opened the door. Savouring the sweet crisp night air, Xander scanned out into the night. "Everybody get into the limo." he said seeing it in the distance.

"But Buffy..."

"Willow explain to Miss Summers what's going on." Xander said as the group piled into the limo.

"But what about you?" Willow asked.

"I'm going back to help, Buffy." Xander said as he loosened his tie and walked up to the front of the car. "Driver, get them out of here!" he shouted out as he slapped the hood of the car. Making sure his friends got a safe distance away, Xander ran for a dark alley where he hid the Tumbler.

* * *

Buffy skillfully weaved through the crowd and staked over five vampires that were covering the exits. Making sure a lot of people got to safety, she was unaware of the danger lurking behind her until it was to late.

And she was nearly knocked unconcious when one of the thugs cracked her on the side of the head with his crowbar.

"Gotcha." he said as he and a vampire grabbed her on either side and took her over to where the Joker was.

"Boss, we caught this girl helping people escape." the thug said as he made Buffy bow down before the clown prince. Buffy was still out of it from the hit to the head and all that she could make out was a purple suit and a white face.

"Ohhh... and who might you be?" the Joker asked as he caressed Buffy's face with his free hand, making her flinch away from his touch.

"She's with me!" a dark voice yelled out, as a batarang hit the Joker's hand, making him drop his machine gun.

"It's Batman." the Joker said, clutching his hurt hand as he looked all throughout the building for him. "Fan out you idiots. Find him!" he yelled to his minions.

With that said five thugs, various weapons in hand, got in a loose defensive ring, peering out into the dimly lit room. Suddenly a shadow dropped into the center of their ring and as one the thugs turned, all shouting. One swung a chain, another a knife. Ducking the chain, Batman sweep-kicked the knife-wielder to the ground, as the man with the chain swung again.

Jumping over the attack, one leg low, he to let the chain wrap around his ankle, and kicked his leg sideways ripping the chain from its owner, then he head butted him, taking him down. Still with the chain around his ankle, Batman spun into a roundhouse kick, smacking three thugs behind him in the face with the weapon.All three went down from the move, and the rest were either were unconscious or gone. His job temporarily done Batman stood there, long cape billowing out to one side, as the chain slid from his leg.

"As I said Joker." Batman said as he looked over at his newest enemy. "The girls with me."

"Really?" the Joker asked increduously. "Then why is she down on her knees in front of me and not you?"

As he said that, Buffy finally came out of her daze. With a growl, she used her Slayer strength and threw off her attackers, hit the Joker in the stomach, and rolled over to where Batman was standing.

"So nice of you to join me, Miss Summers." Batman said as Buffy stood to her feet.

"Enough with the sarcasm." Buffy said with a roll of her eyes as she got into a defensive stance.

"Get them." the Joker said as he looked down to try to find his gun.

"You take the humans and I'll take the vamps." Batman said as he moved off from her.

Before Buffy could comment six prisoners rushed her all at once. Buffy fought skillfully and hard, flipping one prisoner into another. Suddenly several prisoners hit the deck before loud retorts of a machine gun sounded off. Not caring that he was hitting several of his own men, he kept firing, all the while concentrating on Buffy. Jumping into a series of flips to avoid being shot, the Joker suddenly ran out of bullets.

"You aren't quite human are you?" he asked as he dropped his now empty gun as Buffy rushed him.

"More human than you." Buffy said as she picked him up off of his feet by the throat. 'He doesn't even care that he killed some of his men.' she thought to herself. 'And what's up with that damn smile?'

"Oooo...I love a strong woman." he wheezed out. "How about you take a whiff of my flower?" he asked as he squeezed a white flower on his lapel, making a small amount of gas come out of it.

As Buffy inhaled it, she let go of the Joker, making him fall flat on his ass, and started to violently cough. Knees buckling from the effects of the gas, Buffy fell to the floor, clutching her side.

"Alright boys let's go!" the Joker shouted out to the last of his gang as he heard police sirens in the distance. "Be seeing you peaches." he said with a laugh.

"Peaches." Buffy repeated as she too started to laugh uncontrollably.

As the Joker passed the exit door, Trevor Lockley stood up from his position and started to shoot his gun, only for the Joker to skip merrily out of the door.

"Damnit." Trevor said angrily.

"Kate, you stay here and wait for back up." and before she could say anything to him, he was out the door.

* * *

As Batman finished the last of the vampires, he heard the Joker's shout about leaving. Looking in his direction, he saw him skipping out of the door and Buffy twitching on the floor laughing without any control.

That's when Batman realized what was happening. Before Alfred left he had given him case files on almost every villian Batman faced. And one of the Joker's specialties was a special gas that would make someone laugh uncontrollably until...

"Damnit!" he yelled out as he ran to Buffy who was still laughing on the floor. Hearing police sirens in the distance, he picked Buffy up into his arms, took out his grappling hook gun, and dissappeared with Buffy up into the rafters.

"It's about time you guys got here." Kate said as she approached a couple of uniformed cops. "What took you guys so long?"

"We were responding to a bank robbery." one of the cops answered. "What's the situation here?" he asked as he looked around and saw a few dead bodies and some people laying on the ground hurt from various injuries.

"Two words." Kate said as she holstered her gun and watched as the paremedics came into the room. "The..." was all she was able to get out as a black blur dropped down, grabbed her, and dissappeared towards the ceiling.

"The what officer?" the cop asked as he turned around only to find Kate gone.

Batman covered Kate's mouth, just as down below them the door smashed open and tons of cops and a S.W.A.T. team entered the room. As Batman let go of Kate, she turned around furious and saw Buffy lying in a storage space giggling to herself.

"What's happened to her?" she asked herself as she moved over to check on her.

"The Joker poisoned her with a nerve gas." Batman said from the shadows, making Kate whip out her gun at his voice.

"I don't have time for this officer." Batman told her. "This girl could die in a matter of minutes."

"Then let me take her down to the medics." Kate said still pointing her gun at him.

"They can't help her. But I can." Batman said as she finally lowered her gun. As she did so someone switched all the lights on bleaching the whole room with light. But luckily for them they all remained in shadow.

"How do you plan on getting by the cops?" Kate asked.

Batman didn't reply in words, but rather reached down to his boot and pressed a switch in the heel, producing a barely audible high-frequency whine.

"I need to get her the antidote before the damage becomes permanent." Batman said as he looked down at Buffy and then Kate.

"How long does she have?" Kate asked worriedly.

"Not long."

Meanwhile outside

A strange squealing sound rose in the darkness of the night. Some cops looked around, curious and saw a dark cloud crosseing the moon... not a regular cloud...

* * *

"Get her downstairs, meet me in the alley behind this building." Batman told Kate as he lowered a grappling hook line, so she and Buffy could get down.

"How will you get out?"

"I called for backup." Batman said as he indicated his boot. "And don't worry about the Joker, I'll deal with him."

"Do you know what he was planning?"

"I don't know but I'll deal with it."

"What is that?" Kate asked with a frown at the loud squealing noise.

"Backup." was all Batman said as he waited.

Outside

The cops screamed and dived for cover as bats, thousands upon thousands descended on the building, heading for the windows. It had to be almost every bat in LA. The windows shattered inwards as the bats poured into the building, just as Kate covered Buffy and carried her out the back way.

Bats then flooded into the bright stairwell, soaring up past the cowering SWATS, in a black mass rising, darkening the area. Batman amidst the bats, calm, pulled the sounder out of his heel, leaned over the stairwell and dropped it. The bats cycloned down the high area, following the signal as Batman jumped into the center of the black cyclone, hidden and falling.

Opening his cloak with a jolt, he landed hard in a crouch, moving calmly through the bats, slipping past the cowering Swats and crashing out of the back door.

As he turned the corner and down the alley, he saw Kate holding up a nearly unconcious Buffy.

"She's not gonna last long." Kate said to Batman as he picked up Buffy in his arms.

"I know." Batman replied as he started to run further down the alley, as the searchlight from a chopper blasted them.

"Then let's take my car and get her to the hospital."

"No need." Batman said as the blinding headlights of the Tumbler flared and the massive engine roared. "I brought my own."

Diving out of the way, Kate watched as the Tumbler came flying out of the darkness. The matte-black, muscularity of the stealth-finished "car" blew by, making her jaw drop.

"I wish I had one of those." she muttered to herself as her father ran up behind her.

Not caring about anything else but Buffy's life, the Batmobile smashed into a cop car, the huge front tires crushed the bonnet, bouncing the Tumbler right over the cop car in a messy display of brute force. 'I'm glad dad was donating money to these guys.'

Wheels fully on the ground the Tumbler tore left, and accelerated down the street...

"Hold on Buffy." Batman said as he looked over at her. He could tell that she was fading fast. "Just hold on..." he said as he typed at his onboard computer, opening a comm. link. "Diana!"

Wayne Manor

Diana's bedroom

"Diana!" Diana heard someone yelling out her name. Opening her eyes and sitting up in bed, she looked over and saw that it was coming from her communicater watch.

"Batman?" she asked as she picked it up and pushed a button.

"I don't have alot of time." Batman said urgently. "Get to the Batcave and prepare an antidote for the Joker's toxin."

"What happened?" she asked, even as she ran for the piano room.

"The Joker decided to crash the party." Batman replied. "He ended up infecting Buffy with the stuff." and to prove his point, Diana heard Buffy's faint giggles in the background.

"Wait are you still in LA?" Diana asked as she hit the notes on the piano and entered the elevator.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Xander, even in the Tumbler it'll still take you close to thirty minutes to get here." she replied back as she pushed the down button.

"I'm aware of that." he said back grimly. "That's why I'm gonna activate the Tumblers warp drive. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"But we haven't tested that before."

Dawn and Selina heard Diana say, as they looked over at each other and hid.

"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Diana continued.

"Yeah, I do." Batman said. If they hit the drive and hit something, namely a car, they would be smeared all over LA. "Batman out."

"Damnit, Xander." Diana said frustrated as she moved over to the lab part of the Batcave to prepare the antidote. 'I don't remember leaving the lights on.' she thought to herself. Letting the thought go she quickly looked up on the computer on how to prepare the antidote.

* * *

Batman glanced down at a row of buttons on the computer console, in his car. Seeing one that said WP, he put his hand over it...

"Here goes nothing." he said to himself and pushed the button, kicking the car into warp.

"Warning, the autopilot will not activate." the cool woman voice of the computer warned. "You must drive manually."

"Damnit." Batman muttered again, as he started to navigate manually. Buffy opened her eyes and saw trees, houses, and cars whipping past at incredible speeds. Looking away from the window she saw Batman nervously steering the car and looking at calculations on a computer screen.

"Just stay with me, Buffy were almost there." Batman said, feeling Buffy's eyes on him. "Please, just stay awake."

"Xander?" Buffy asked as her face started to hurt from laughing.

Looking straight ahead, she saw a lookout over a river gorge. Dropping out of warp Batman pushed the Batmobile, speeding towards the lookout. Buffy's glazed eyes registered the danger and she started to panick... even as the Tumbler rocketed off the edge of the lookout, over the gorge, flying straight at the face of the waterfall.

Buffy screamed as they splashed into the face of the waterfall and emerged through the curtain of water and into the batcave. The Tumbler's ground anchors then hooked a steel cable, spinning an interia reel bolted to the cave wall, yanking the car to a halt like a jet landing on an aircraft carrier. Not being able to take it anymore, Buffy bounced in her seat and passed out.

The canopy of the Tumbler hissed open in three complex sections, like insect wings imploding. Seeing Buffy knocked out, Batman lifted her from the cockpit, stepped down onto wet shale and carried her into the damp blackness of the caverns.

Cloak billowing in his wake, he headed for the glow of his work table. Gently laying Buffy on the table, Diana handed him a syringe. Putting the syringe between his teeth, he glided off the scaffold and landed beside Buffy. With a wince of his own, he injected her in the biceps. With a sigh of relief Batman stepped back, watching as Buffy's breathing started to slow.

"That was a close one." Diana said as she walked up to Batman.

"Tell me about it." Batman said as he took off his cowl and layed it on the table next to the Slayer. "Another couple of minutes and Buffy would have died."

"Buffy?" Dawn said loudly as she stood up from her hiding place.

"Dawn?" Xander asked as he turned to look at her with wide eyes. 'Busted again.'

"And me." Selina said as she stood up. "Hi uncle Xander." she said innocently.

Not knowing what else to do, Xander reached into his utility belt and threw a gas grenade at the girls feet, knocking them out.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Diana asked angrily.

"I'm going to use the same drug on them that my dad used on Jesse to make him forget he was Batman for the night." Xander replied as he picked both of the little girls up and layed them on the table beside Buffy. "I'm going to make them forget all about this."

Two hours later

Buffy's room

Buffy let out a yawn as she tried to roll over in bed, but something was on her arm. Opening her eyes she saw Dawn curled up on her arm, silently asleep.

"Dawn." Buffy called out, making her little sister wake up.

"Is it time for school already?" Dawn asked as she sat up and looked at Buffy. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Your room?" Buffy asked. "But this is my...wait shouldn't I still be in LA?" she asked more of herself then Dawn. 'The last thing, I remember was fighting a guy wearing a purple suit and Bat...Batman!' Buffy realized as her blood started to boil. "He did it to me again!" Buffy yelled outloud.

"Who did what?" Dawn asked confused. The last thing she could remember was playing with a new friend of hers. 'Man what was her name?'

"Nobody." Buffy said realizing what she had said. "Let's just get some sleep." Buffy said as the two snuggled closer to one another and fell asleep.

Wayne Manor

Sametime

"Mommy! Mommy!" Selina yelled out as she came out of her fit of dreams.

"Hey...hey babe it's alright." Xander soothed, as Selina looked around and saw that he was carrying her up some stairs. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asked. Dawn body took the medicine without complications, but as they examined Selina, they found that she had a rare blood trait. Her body would produce a special cell that counteracted, certain drugs.

In short, they didn't know if the one they gave her would work.

"Yeah and it was real bad." Selina said as she rested her head back on his shoulder. "I...I think I hate bats." she said as he stiffened.

"You do?" Xander asked. "Is that what your dream was about?"

"Yeah." She told him excitedly, as he walked into her room and layed her down in her bed. "I had a nightmare that a giant bat was chasing me. Uncle Xander..."

"Yeah, babe." Xander said as he tucked her in.

"Will...will you protect me against bats?" she asked seriously.

"Always." Xander said with a smile as he kissed her on the forehead. "Now get some sleep." he said as he walked out of the room.

Batcave

"I understand that Mister Wayne." Diana was saying to Bruce on the wide screen computer monitor. "But from what Xander was saying, the Joker is here."

"I still can't come to Sunnydale now." Bruce told her with a sad look. "Before the Joker left Gotham, he broke into Arkham Asylum and freed every criminal they had. I couldn't leave Gotham right now even if I wanted to. The criminals here are out of control."

"I understand." Diana told him.

"But there is something I want you to tell Xander. Tell him to be careful. Out of all the sicko's I've ever faced, the Joker is the worst."

"I'll be sure to let him know."

"And one more thing." Bruce interrupted. "Tell Xander...tell him that I love him. Bruce Wayne out." he said as he severed the communications link.

Sagging in her seat, Diana let out a sigh and typed into the computer. If they were gonna fight the Joker, she wanted to know all she could about him.

The Master's Cave

"Word has it that your little clown failed." the Master informed Mayor Wilkins.

"Some people died." Wilkins said with a shrug. "That's gotta count for something."

"A few curtains here, a slab of paint there..." the Joker was saying as he walked into the room. "So what do you think, Harley?"

"With a few changes this place could be just like home." she said scanning the room. Sensing someone about to run up on him, the Joker turned around and squirted his flower into the face of a vampire.

But unlike Buffy, the vamps face started to burn, because what the Joker used was acid. The vampires screams, as he clawed at his face, was like a music symphony to the Joker ears.

"Sorry, for the intrusion Massa'." the Joker said as he walked all the way into the room and bowed before him. "The names Joker."

A/N the episode The Pack is next. Also I hope I did the Joker some justice in this chapter. He is my favourite batman villian after all.

TBC...

Please Review...


	11. Chapter 10 The Pack

A/N Thanks for all of the great reviews. This is quickly becoming one of my most top rated stories so thanks. Also I'm giving a special shoutout to war90, I'm really happy that you're enjoying the story.

And to Darklight, I do have it planned for one other DC villian to come to Sunnydale, but I haven't decided who it's gonna be. I do however have it planned out who the other super hero coming to town will be though.

Chapter 10

The Pack

The Joker's warehouse

"Hold still baby or daddy can't kill you." the Joker said as he shot at Harley again.

"I'm sorry, Mister J." Harley said as she flipped expertly away from the shots.

"Sorry?" the Joker asked as he dropped his now empty pistol to the ground. "You lose my babies and all you can say is sorry!" he said as he slapped her hard across the face, sending her tumbling to the dusty floor. "You find those damn hyena's and you find them now!" he spat out as she scrambled to her feet.

"Oh and Harley." he said calming down as she opened the warehouse door. "Bring me back a cinnamon roll and a cappichino, I'm starving."

Sunnydale zoo

thirty minutes later

"Listen man, if you like Buffy then go for it." Xander was saying to Jesse as they walked through the snake terrarium area.

"But don't you like her?" Jesse asked. He had seen all the looks the two would always give each other.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, because I do have feelings for her." Xander replied as he stopped and looked at his friend. "But I think the best thing for me and her is just to stay friends. Not only because you told me you like her and have feelings for her but...because I'm thinking about leaving Sunnydale."

"What!" Jesse exploded. "But you just got here."

"I'm still debating about it, but if I did leave it'll be at the end of the school year." he replied as they continued to walk. "I had to come here and find out about my past." 'And to try to find Spike.' he thought to himself. 'But for all I know he's probably, dead by now.'

"But what about all the monsters? We need your help here." Jesse pointed out.

"No you don't need my help." Xander said as he turned around to look at him again. "You have Buffy and I was thinking of making sure that you guys got karate lessons, so you could defend yourselves better."

"So you're really leaving?" Jesse asked sadly. He had just gotten one of his bestfriend's back, only to lose him all over again.

"Hey, like I said man I'm thinking about it. Hey there's Buffy and Willow." Xander said as they walked out of the terrarium and out into the open area. "I would appreciate it if you kept this between me and you."

"I will." Jesse said sadly.

"You coming?" Xander asked as he started to walk up to the rest of his friends.

"I'll catch up in a minute." Jesse called out.

* * *

"I don't know Buffy." Willow was saying as she nervously looked around to see if anybody was listening. "That sounds a little to far fetched to believe, even for me."

"I'm telling you, Willow I think Xander is the dark knight."

"But we all saw Xander when both of the batmen broke into his house." Willow tried to reason.

"I know. I'm still trying to figure that out."

"Well what proof do you have, that makes you think it was him?"

"Well um...do you remember last week when I was poisoned by the Joker?" Buffy asked, waiting until Willow nodded. "When I was driving with Batman, it seemed like I was talking to Xander the whole time."

"Buffy you must have been totally out of it when you had the Jokers toxin in you." Willow said shutting down Buffy's theory.

"Well what about when Xander calls my mom, Miss Summer's?" Buffy asked. "That's the same thing Batman says to me."

"Buffy come on, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Willow asked as she put her hand on her shoulder.

"Well how does he know..."

"Hey girls, what's the what?" Xander asked as he walked up behind the two, startling them.

"Oh...ummm..."

"We were just..."

"Thinking about going to the Bronze tonight." Buffy made up. "You coming?"

"I'll have to pass on that." Xander said with a shrug. "I have a few things to talk to Diana about tonight."

"Oh..." was all Buffy said.

"Hey, where's Jesse?" Willow asked.

"Oh, he's..." Xander stopped as he pointed and then looked behind himself. "Hey he was standing right over there."

* * *

Letting out a sigh, Jesse was about to go and watch the zebra's mating to cheer himself up, but then he suddenly heard a muffled scream. Whipping his head up to his right, he saw Kyle and his gang from school, dragging a beautiful blonde, wearing daisy dukes, into the hyena exhibit.

Chancing a glance back, he saw Buffy and the others going the opposite direction. Wanting to let off a little steam, he quickly followed up behind the gang to see if he could help.

* * *

Harley dropped the last of her cinnamon roll in her mouth and threw away her empty cappichino cup. She had looked all around the small town for the Joker's hyena's but to no avail. But seeing as though the zoo was the only place she hadn't checked, she decided to try her luck.

"Whoa, babe alert." she heard a voice say that snapped her out of her musings.

Looking up from out of her daze, she saw two boys along with two girls staring at her. Wondering what they were looking at, she looked down at herself and remembered that she was wearing some dasiy dukes and a very revealing top.

She looked like the typical californian girl, not the crazy court jester of the Joker.

"I've never seen you around school or for that matter Sunnydale before." the lead boy said as he walked up to her. "Are you new?"

"You could say that." Harley told him nervously. 'This little twirp is trying to push up on me.' she realized. 'Maybe I should just play along.' "Actually, I am new to SunnyD and I'm not in highschool. I'm in college and I lost my dogs." she said as she digged in her pocket and showed them a picture. "Have you seen them?"

"They don't look like any dogs I've ever seen." Kyle said as he and the others examined the picture. "They look more like..."

"Hyena's." Harley finished for him. "Yeah, I know."

"Well um...there's a hyena exhibit over there." Tor said pointing over his shoulder. "Maybe we should try there."

"Sounds like a plan." Kyle said with a smile. "You coming..."

"The names...Quinn." Harley said using her last name. She was scared that they would probably find out who she was if she used her first name.

"Well Quinn, you coming?" Kyle asked.

"Maybe, I should..."

"Just come on!" Kyle said losing his patience, as he grabbed Harley roughly from behind and put his hand over her mouth. Ignoring her screams he dragged her into the hyena area.

Hyena House

Kyle and the others tore through more tape blocking the way in the exhibit and look around.

"Cool." Kyle said as he finally let go of Harley.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harley demanded to know as she kicked Kyle in his shins. She was an accomplished martial artist, but she didn't want to reveal who she was, because the Joker didn't want Sunnydale to know he was in town yet. He told her it was because he had big plans.

"Ow." Kyle whined as he hopped on one foot, while holding onto his hurt leg. Ignoring him Tor and the girls walked up to the enclosure and looked in. Harley stayed back with Kyle behind her.

"I don't see any hyenas." Harley said as she crossed her hands over her chest. And as soon as those words left her mouth, one of the hyenas growled and showed itself between some rocks.

"Okay! Now we've seen it and it's not mine." Harley said as she tried to leave, only to find Kyle blocking her path.

"Are you sure?" Rhonda asked. "He looks awfully cute."

"Maybe you should take a closer look." Kyle said as he and Tor grabbed her from either side.

"No!" Harley yelled out, as they dragged her up the steps and lifted her up to the bars. Although she really wasn't worried about the Hyena's because her puddin' had developed a pheramone that made them go through a stage of dormancy so they wouldn't harm her.

And like the white night that he was, Jesse came in, pulled their arms off of her and helped her away from the railing.

"You heard the girl." Jesse said as Harley moved behind him. "She said no."

" And what are you gonna do about it?" Kyle asked.

"Something, damn manly." Jesse said putting up his fists.

Suddenly the hyenas growled, making Jesse, Kyle and the others look down at them to see what the commotion was about. The hyena's eyes flashed green, and then two of the kid's eyes followed suit. The hyena's eyes flashed green again, and two more kid's eyes did the same. If they had of been paying attention, then they would have seen that they were standing on a sacred circle painted on the floor.

Harley however was saved from their fate as she felt something brushing up against her leg. Looking down she saw that it was the Joker's two hyena's.

"Where have you guy's been?" she asked as she crouched down and started to pet them. "Me and daddy were worried sick about you."

"I see that you've found what you were looking for." Kyle said as he walked up to them and started to sniff the other hyena's and pet them. And to Harley's surprise, they didn't bite Kyle or the others. Usually when someone besides her or the Joker tried to touch them, they would get mad or try to eat them.

"Yeah and they are cute." Heidi said as she and Rhonda joined in and patted them. And that's when Harley knew something was wrong. As she stood up ready to leave, she looked back and saw that Kyle and the others were right behind her.

"Why are you mooks following me?" she asked Tor.

"Because you're our queen." Tor replied as he sniffed her hair. "And we're your pack."

'What the hell is...' she thought to herself and then it came to her in a flash. She remembered seeing the kids eye's turn green and then she looked down and her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the sacred circle on the floor.

"Magic..." she whispered to herself. "Alright then let's go so I can introduce you to your new boss." she said as she looked back at Jesse, who still had his back turned from them. "But what about him?"

Kyle and the others turned and laughed when they saw him, but then Jesse turned around and his eyes started to flash green as he smiled an almost wolfish smile.

The Jokers

Warehouse

"Hey boss, you'll never guess what I got." Harley said as she slinked into the door of the warehouse.

"If it's not my cinnamon roll or my hyena's I'm not interested." as soon as those words left his mouth both of his hyena's ran into the room and up to him.

"Boy's." the Joker said happily with a laugh as he got down on one knee to pet them.

"And that's not all." she said as she opened the door wider and the Pack walked into the room.

"Who the hell are these little brats?" he asked as he looked up at them with utter contempt.

"To make a long story short, something magical happened now they're our new gang."

"Our new gang?" Joker asked with a raised eyebrow. "What can these little bastards..." he was cut off as Kyle and the others picked up his car and lifted it over their heads. "Oooohhh, now that's what I call teamwork." he said as he walked over and wrapped his arms around them, after they lowered the car. "Now this is what I want you boys to do."

Wayne Manor

Later that day

As Xander opened the door to his home, a blonde whirlind quickly engulfed him in a hug.

"Hey babe." Xander said as he kissed Selina on the forehead.

"Hi, is that for me?" she asked as she eyed the box in his hands.

"No." Xander said as he sat her down and digged into his pocket. "But this is..." he said as he handed her a little black box. With a giggle, she opened it and saw a beautiful golden necklace with a cat pendant on it.

"It's so beautiful." Selina said as she undid the clasp and put the necklace around her neck.

"Yeah, I know you like cats so when I saw it at the jewelry store I knew you'd like it."

"What's going on?" Diana asked as she walked into the room.

"Mommy, look what uncle Xander bought me." Selina said as she held up her necklace.

"That's nice honey." Diana said eyeing the jewelry. "Now go upstairs to your room and finish your homework. Me and your uncle have to do some talking."

"Okay mom." Selina said as she left the room.

"I wish you wouldn't spoil her so much." Diana said giving Xander a look.

"You shouldn't worry about that so much." Xander said with a shrug. "You're doing an excellant job raising her and it's not like I'm gonna corrupt her or anything."

'He still doesn't get it.' Diana thought to herself. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well first things first." Xander said as he handed her the package. "This came for you in the mail."

"Whose it from?" she asked, not seeing a return address on it.

"I don't know but...hey it has the Wayne seal on it." he said as he reached to open it, only for it to let loose a small electrical discharge and shock him. "Ow..." he yelled as he took his hand back. "...it must be magically sealed."

"Magical?"

"Yeah, just like the stuff from the warehouse batcave." Xander informed her. "Some parts of it can't be touched by anyone but me, or it shocks them."

"So whoever sent this meant for me to open it and nobody else." Diana figured as she reached for the seal and without being shocked opened it.

"So what's inside?" Xander asked anxiously.

"That old goat..." Diana said with a huge smile as she showed Xander what was inside. It was a custom made Batwoman suit. It was made out of the same material as the Batman suit, but only more lightweight and instead of showing muscles it would show the curves of her body. The only other noticible differences were that her suit had a golden symbol of a bat in the middle of it's chest, the cowl had smaller horns, and it also had a hole in the back of it so her hair could flow out.

"I thought, I told him I didn't want to be Batwoman again." Diana said with a smile as she sat the box down on a table.

"You might have to be." Xander muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just sit down, because I need to explain a few things."

"You're gonna leave!" Diana shouted after a few minutes of Xander explaining himself.

"Like I said I'm thinking about it and if I do leave it'll be at the end of the school year."

* * *

'Uncle Xander's gonna leave me.' Selina thought to herself from her position of hiding. 'I...I can't believe this.' she thought as she ran up to her room to cry.

* * *

"Poor little rich boy." Diana said with a disgusted shake of her head. "Things getting a little to tough so you decide to run."

"It's not like that. The only reason I came here was to kill..."

"So this is all about revenge for you?" she asked cutting him off.

"It was at first but..."

"But what? Xander do you have any idea how many people are counting on you...the Batman?"

"But they have Buffy." Xander countered.

"And she has proven time and time again that she needs help." Diana said as she stood to her feet and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "And what about me and Selina?"

"You both can come back with me. I think Selina would love it in Gotham."

"Theres no way me and Selina are going to Gotham." she said as she jabbed him in the chest again. "We were born and raised here and by God if I have too, I'll put on that Batwoman suit on and defend Sunnydale myself."

"I got to get out of here." Xander said as he stood to his feet and walked to the door.

"And there's something else you need to do." Diana yelled out, making Xander turn around and look at her. "You need to finally grow up and accept some responsibility." and with that Xander walked out of the door.

The Bronze

Twenty minutes later

As Xander got out of his car and walked to the Bronze entrance, he saw Buffy holding onto Willow who was crying.

"Will's what's wrong?"

"Jesse's what's wrong." Buffy answered for the still weeping red head. "Me and Willow were just hanging out in the Bronze and Jesse came in and totally insulted us both."

"Something's wrong with him." Willow cried out as she latched onto Xander. "I've known him my whole life and he's never acted like this before."

Before Xander could say anything to try to comfort her, a loud boom suddenly filled the air. Looking up they saw a large smoke cloud billowing further in the city, followed by the sound of a security alarm going off.

"What's going on now?" Xander asked irritated.

"I don't know but I have a feeling we should check it out." Buffy told him.

"I do too." Xander said, while internally debating on whether he should leave and change into his batman costume. "Let's just take my car." he said making up his mind.

Sunnydale Securities Bank

As Xander parked his car in front of the blazing inferno, that used to be the bank, he and the others saw five figures emerge out of the building wearing ski masks and carrying large bags of money.

"Maybe we should just wait for the police." Xander suggested as he saw that they were just burgerlers. Suddenly one of them flipped a nearby bench high into the air. "Maybe not." he said as he and Buffy jumped out of the car.

"Willow you stay here." Buffy said as they ran to engage the supernatural threat.

"Xander get out of the way." one of the male bank robbers told him as if he were annoyed.

"How do you know my name?" Xander asked as he grabbed his arm. "Who are you?"

"The Pack." one of the other males answered as he punched Xander hard in the face, sending him almost ten feet in the air.

"Xander!" Buffy yelled alarmed as she was about to run over and help him.

"You should worry more about yourself." one of the masked girls said as she did a spin and sidekicked Buffy in the chest. With an inhuman laugh the other girl of the Pack joined in on the fun.

As Xander opened his eyes, from his position on the ground, he was just able to avoid getting his head smashed by a large black boot. Using the momentum of the roll, as he came up he threw out a punch and a spinkick, that was easily blocked.

"Come on, Xan-man." one of the boys taunted. "I know you can do better than that."

"Jesse." Xander finally realized as he blocked a kick from Jesse and Tor, at the same time, on his forearms. Not being able to move fast enough, Kyle came up behind him and swung his sack of loot at his head, knocking him back down to the ground nearly unconcious.

"Come on guys." Kyle yelled loud enough for the whole gang to hear, as he heard police sirens in the distance. "Let's get out of here."

"Be seeing you, Xand." Jesse said with little emotion as he kicked Xander hard in the ribs. With a laugh at Xander's obvious pain, he took something out of his pocket and dropped it on Xander's chest.

"Bye, Buffy." Rhonda called out as her and Heidi did an almost mirror imaged spinkick, that caught Buffy full in the face. As she landed next to Xander, the only thing she could hear as she closed her eyes, was the hideous laugh of the Pack.

Wayne Manor

"What the hell happened to you?" Diana asked as she saw Xander walk into the living room, looking like one big bruise.

"I...I'll explain later." Xander said as he walked past her, not saying what he really wanted to say to her. "I have somewhere to be right now."

Diana just looked at his retreating form, shook her head sadly, and walked off in the other direction.

Jokers Warehouse

"That's one hundred for me and one dollar for each of you." The Joker was saying as he grinned widely while counting his loot. "And none of you had any problems with the bat?"

"No, but we ran into that Slayer you were telling us about." Kyle said as he threw down a sack full of money.

"And we kicked her ass." Heidi said as she and the others started to laugh at that fact.

"That's all?" the Joker asked. "You didn't kill her?"

"The police were coming." Tor informed him.

"No matter." the Joker said as he went back to counting his money. "I'll just pay her a little visit later." he said as he leaned back and started to laugh crazily.

"Now go." the Joker said as he stopped laughing. "Go out and play. Just come back to me in a couple of days."

Sunnydale Library

"I'm telling you Giles they were way stronger than me." Buffy was saying as she and Willow explained what happened.

"Vampires?" he asked.

"No. I mean why would vamps rob a bank and how did they know my name?"

"Actually there have been several incidences where vampires and other demons have robbed banks." Giles replied as he poured them and then himself some tea.

"And maybe there's an outside force that's trying to kill you, other then the Master." Willow suggested.

"I'm inclined to agree with Miss. Rosenberg." a voice said in the darkness of the room, startling everybody.

"God, will you stop doing that." Buffy said as she saw Batman appear out of the stacks.

"It's my job to lurk and be sneaky, Miss Summers." he replied walking up to the table.

"You...y..yy..."

"It's alright Mr. Giles. Calm down."

"How do you know all of our names?" Willow asked. Strangely feeling comfortable around the Dark Knight.

"I'm a detective Miss Rosenberg." Batman said as he turned to look at her. "It's my job to detect things."

"W-what do you mean there's an outside force behind this?" Giles asked finally finding his voice.

"Because, I found this at the scene of the crime." he replied as he dropped a Joker playing card on the library table.

"Wow if you'd of brought more cards we could be playing poker right now." Buffy said sacastically.

"It's the calling card of the Joker." Batman said, instantly causing Buffy to stiffen at the name.

"He's...he's here?" she asked.

"I believe so."

"But what about the demons that attacked Buffy and Xander at the bank?" Willow asked.

"They weren't demons, Miss Rosenberg." Batman informed her. He really didn't want them to find out it was Jesse yet, until he found out what was going on. "I'm still investigating the situation, but I think that the Joker might have done something to the people you fought today."

"What makes you so sure that the Joker is the cause of these people being super strong?" Buffy asked as Batman started to fade back into the darkness of the room.

"I don't." he said over his shoulder. "But if you have any other theories then please find them out." and with that he was gone.

The next day

"Has anybody seen my car keys?" Xander asked as he walked into the kitchen where Selina and Diana were.

"You have four other cars." Diana pointed out. "Why not take one of them?"

"Those keys are missing too." Xander said with a scratch of his head. He totally missed the guilty look Selina had on her face.

"Well, I still have my keys so I'll just drop you off at school." she told him. "Then when I get back home I'll look for all of your keys."

"Alright." Xander said ackwardly. "Come on squirt, we'll take you to school first." he said as he picked up Selina, who had a saddened look on her face as she layed her head against his chest to hear his heart beat.

The Gym

later that day

"Alright, it's raining, all regular gym classes have been postponed, so you know what that means." Coach Harrold said as he held up a large rubber ball. "dodgeball! Now, for those of you that may have forgotten, the rules are as follows: you dodge." he said as he tossed the ball to Buffy.

Blowing his whistle, he watched as the two groups moved back from center court. He whistled again and the ball throwing commenced. Jesse nailed his first victim, just as Buffy and the pack members easily dodged the balls. The coach sat back enjoying the game from the sidelines, as Jesse nailed another victim. Buffy threw a ball and hit her mark, at the sametime Jesse threw again and nailed Willow hard on the back. She gave him a hurt and confused look as she walked off of the court. As he caught the ball he watched Willow go, but soon continued the game.

Willow sat down, crossed her arms and kept looking at him and a few seconds later just the pack and Lance were left on one side, Buffy on the other. The pack looked at her briefly, then focused on Lance, who fell to the floor and cowered as they each threw their balls at him hard. With wide eyes, Buffy ran over, helped Lance up, and stared at Jesse. He stared back for a moment, then shrugged and left with the others.

"God, this game is brutal." Coach Harrold said to himself as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I love it."

Nobody in the room saw that Xander had entered the room. He was going to tell them that they found Principal Flutie eaten alive, but instead he saw the whole confrontation. Quickly jotting down a few notes, he walked out of the school gym.

later that day

Willow stood in the hallway nervously waiting for Jesse after class, and went up to him when he came from the other hall with the pack.

"Jesse... What's wrong with you?" Willow asked. With a smile Jesse looked at the others briefly and pulled Willow aside.

"I wanted to apologize for the things I said to you earlier." Jesse said lowly. "And I guess you've noticed that I've been different around you lately."

"Yes."

"I think, um... I think it's because my feelings for you have been changing." Jesse said as Buffy and Xander walked around the corner to her locker.

"And, well, we've been friends for such a long time that I feel like I need to tell you something." Jesse told her seriously.

Willow then looked at him expectantly. She had been waiting for as long as she could remember. Jesse was finally going to tell her that...

"I've, um... I've decided to drop out of school. So I won't be needing your help anymore. Which means I won't have to look at your pasty face again." Jesse said as he and the pack started to laugh.

With a crushed heart and tears stinging her eyes, Willow turned on her heel and ran. Buffy watched her quickly walk by, slammed her locker and approached Jesse with her arms crossed, with Xander a step behind her. Seeing the love of his life walk up to him Jesse stopped laughing.

"You gonna say something to me next?" Buffy asked as Jesse leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

"Maybe, later."

"So are you done picking on, Willow?" Xander asked as he got in Jesse's face. They got so close that their noses were only inches apart. "Because, I'm dying for you guys to try to pick on me."

"The way I'm feeling right now, buddy I don't think you should mention the word dying." Jesse replied as he lightly tapped Xander on the shoulder.

Xander just looked at them and they started laughing again more loudly. And at that moment Buffy realized where she heard that laugh from. Ignoring that fact, she and Xander ran in the other direction to try to find Willow.

* * *

"So you believe that Jesse and the others are the Jokers henchmen?" Giles asked as he walked out of the stacks.

"Yeah." Buffy replied as she held onto Willow who was still softly crying. "They had that same dogish laugh and everything."

"A hyena." Willow muffled from Buffy's shoulder.

"What?" she asked as she looked down at Willow.

"They were laughing like a pack of hyena's." Willow said looking up at her.

'Of course, hyena's.' Xander thought to himself. 'That's the Joker's M.O., he has to be the one who did this to Jesse and the others. But how?'

"Nevertheless, when did all of this trouble start?" Giles asked, getting them back on subject.

"The zoo." Buffy and Willow concluded together.

* * *

"That's wierd that all of your car keys are missing." Willow said as she, Buffy, and Xander walked further into the zoo.

"Yeah, I'm just glad that Diana was able to drop us off here." he said as they ducked under the tape and started in, but were then caught in the act by a zookeeper.

"Oh, hold it, hold it, are you blind, or are you just illiterate?" he asked. "Because hyenas are very quick to prey on the weak."

"Oh, w-we were just gonna take..."

"You're not going in there." the zookeeper cut Buffy off. "Anyone that does is in a world of trouble."

"No, no one's going in there." Willow said as she and Buffy came back out."

"Why is it off-limits?" Buffy asked.

"It's a quarantine. These hyenas just came in from Africa, so keep out." he replied as he cocked his eyebrow. "Even if they call your name."

"What are you talking about?" Willow asked.

"The Masai tribesmen told me that hyenas are capable of understanding human speech." he answered them. "They follow humans around by day, learning their names. At night, when the campfire dies, they call out to a person. Once they separate him, the pack..." he stopped to snap his fingers. "devours them."

"Wierd." Buffy replied.

"Hey." the zookeeper said looking around. "Where's that boy that was with you?"

As Xander looked around the hyena pit, he saw a sacred symbol drawn on the floor. Quickly snapping up some pictures, with a small camera, he walked out to meet back up with the others.

* * *

"And you're sure that, that's what the zookeeper said to you?" Giles asked as they again met at the school library. He wasn't sure when he would ever get some sleep.

"Yeah and he was way spooky." Buffy told him.

"Then perhaps Batman was wrong about the Joker's involvement in this." Giles said as he took his glasses off to polish them. "From what I've read about the Joker he doesn't dabble in magic."

"Actually, he is involved." Batman said as he walked into the room. "Just not in the original way I thought."

"That's it!" Buffy yelled as she stood to her feet and pointed at the dark knight. "I'm so going to put a little bell on you."

"Very amusing miss Summers." Batman said, even though he struggled not to grin, as he tossed a folder on the table. Spilling it's contents as he did so. "I did some surveillance earlier today and I found this at the zoo's hyena chamber."

"This circle's symbol looks vaguely familiar." Giles said as he examined the pictures.

"It should. Especially if you have a book on the works from Sherman Jeffries' on cults and rituals or the Malleus Maleficarum."

"You really do your homework don't you?" Buffy asked.

"I'n more ways then one." Batman said as he looked at her.

"Then if the Joker isn't responsible for this then who..."

"The zookeeper." Willow said aloud. "He was acting way wierd today."

"You're absolutely right, miss Rosenberg." Batman said causing her to smile. "After finding out about that rare species of Hyena's and the spell that was used, I did a background check on him. His name is Edward Mallory and he's wanted for animal smuggling and a few other things. My guess is he smuggled those Hyena's into Sunnydale so he could steal their spirit's and become a powerful being."

"So we know who did what and why, but what do we do now?" Buffy asked.

"With the help of Batwoman, I've managed to figure out a way to pull a reverse-possession of which I want Miss Rosenberg and Mr. Giles to perform."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Buffy asked as she stood to her feet.

"Come with me. I put a tracer on one of the pack members." (that's what Xander was doing when he got in Jesse's face.)Batman said as he turned his back to her. "Now let's go hunting."

* * *

"I didn't say she looks better than you, I said she looks better." a man said to his wife as they got ready to leave to meet her sister.

"I heard what I heard." he wife said irritated as she looked over at her son. "Joey, chew. You have to chew or you'll choke." she said as they got in their jeep.

"I don't see why we have to have this conversation every time we see them." Mr. Anderson continued the argument.

"I didn't start it." she replied in a huff as she put on her seatbelt.

"Damn." Mr. Anderson said as he looked at the ignition. "Where are the keys?"

"Huh?" Mrs. Anderson said as they heard Joey's name being called from outside and began to look around.

Suddenly Kyle looked down from the Jeep's roof into Joey's window. The mother screamed as two others climbed onto the hood and slapped at the windshield. Jesse was at the window opposite Kyle and they all pounded on the car.

"What going on!" Mr. Anderson asked nervously as he looked around. "Hey! Get off! Get off of there!"

"Get away!" Joey cried out as Jesse broke the window with his elbow, growled, and reached in for him.

"Joey! Joey! Joey!" his mom yelled as she reached back to try to protect him.

Buffy suddenly came running up, grabbed Rhonda and threw her off of the hood to  
the ground. She climbed to the roof and did an in-to-out crescent kick, knocking Kyle off. She then looked down at Jesse's feet sticking out of the window.

He stopped reaching for Joey as he suddenly picked up a scent. Crawling back out of the window he looked up and said...

"Xand..." and that's all he got to say as a powerful punch lifted him off of his feet.

"No, it's Batman."

As Jesse stood to his feet the pack gathered around him and looked up at Batman and Buffy. Batman only scowled as Buffy straightened up and put her hands on her hips.

"C'mon. You know what you want." Buffy taunted as she turned, jumped off of the car and starts running down the street, with Batman only a step behind her. With a growl the pack gave chase.

Hyena House

"Giles...Giles they're coming!" Willow yelled out as she saw Batman and Buffy running for their lives.

"Alright, I need you back over here so we can begin the ritual." Giles said as she sat down next to him in the circle and started to speak in an unrecognizable language. Mere seconds later, Buffy and Batman came spilling into the room with the pack growling hungrily behind them.

As the majority of the pack, were about to go after Buffy, Jesse waved them back and they went after Batman instead.

"I guess it's just me and you, Buff." Jesse said as he pounced at her. She faked him out and jumped on him, knocking him down with her on top holding down his arms.

"Been waitin' for you to jump my bones." Jesse said with a smile, then quickly growled and rolled Buffy over onto her back so he's on top now and has her arms pinned down.

"Get off of me." Buffy ordered him, as she heard Batman grunting in the background.

"Is that what you really want?" Jesse asked as Buffy started to struggle a bit. "We both know what you really want. You want danger, don't cha? You like your men dangerous."

"You're in trouble, Jesse." Buffy tried to reason. "You're infected with some hyena thing, it's like a demonic possession."

"Do you know how long... I've waited... until you'd stop pretending that we aren't attracted..."

Before he could get the rest out, Buffy threw him off of her and quickly got up to face him. He gets up too, and began to approach her as she backed away.

"I wish, Willow would stop kidding herself and realize that I couldn't settle with anyone else but you."

"So you knew that Willow had a crush on you?" Buffy asked.

"Since the beginning." Jesse said as he backed her up against the wall. "I was actually gonna ask her out, but the day I saw you that all changed."

"Jesse, I don't wanna hurt you." Buffy said as he roughly grabbed her by the arms.

"You've already hurt me." Jesse informed her. "By falling in love with Xander instead of me."

"Wha..."

"Don't deny it. I've seen the way you two always look at one another." he said angrily. "But that's all gonna change." he said as he moved in to kiss her roughly on the neck. But didn't get the chance, because a vase was suddenly smashed over his head knocking him unconcious.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked.

"Yeah, but how did you..."

"I used gas grenades on them. The Pack will be out of it for quite some time." Batman said as he pointed at their unconcious forms, over his shoulder. "Now come on, Mr. Giles is almost done with the spell.

As Giles mumbled the last words of the incantation, the zookeeper jumped out of his place of hiding, and jumped in the way of the spirits of the Hyena's as they floated in the air.

"Finally." he roared almost animalistically. "I've transcended."

"Yeah, straight to jail." Batman informed him.

"Do you really think a jail could hold me?" he asked as he advanced on him.

"Maybe not." the dark knight said with a shrug. "But let's find out anyway." he said as he charged the zookeeper, knocking him down and away from Willow and Giles.

Angered the zookeeper got up and punched Batman, as Buffy flipped over and kicked the zookeeper in the chest. Finally waking up, Kyle and his gang saw the fight and began to crawl away on their butts. The zookeeper charged Buffy again, but she tossed him over onto his back. He got up and tried again, but Buffy got under him and threw him up and into the hyena pit. He tried to climb out, but was dragged back down by the hyenas. Kyle and company got up and scrambled away. Buffy and Batman ran to the pit to see if they could save the zookeeper, but they were too late. The zookeepers screams stopped as the Hyena's had their last human meal.

Wayne Manor

thirty minutes later

As Xander walked out of the piano room, he saw Diana about to take Selina up to her room. Meeting his gaze, she was about to walk away until Xander grabbed her arm.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Xander asked.

"Yeah." Diana said glumly. "Selina go up to your room and I'll be up in a second to tuck you in." seeing that her daughter did as she was told, Diana turned and looked at Xander suspiciously.

"I...I wanted to say that, I'm sorry." Xander told her seriously. "You were right about everything you said. I don't want to stay in Sunnydale just for revenge, because I realize now that I'm needed here. And...and I love you and Selina. You're a part of my family and I had no right trying to make you leave your home."

"So you've finally grown up." Diana realized.

"Yeah." Xander said with a sad smile as she walked past him. "You'll never give up on me will you?"

"Not until you give me a reason too." she said as she headed upstairs.

"Wait." Xander called out. "I'll tuck, Selina in tonight."

As Xander approached Selina's bedroom, he frowned as he heard her quietly sobbing to herself.

"Selina are you okay?" he asked as he opened the door and saw her on her bed.

"I'm...I'm fine uncle Xander." she replied as she sat up and wiped away her tears.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked as he sat down next to her on the bed.

"I..it was just my allergies."

"You don't have to lie to me babe." he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Now what's wrong?"

"You're leaving." she almost yelled out as she flung herself on him and started crying again.

"Hey...hey, who told you I was leaving?" he asked as he gently squeezed her back.

"I...I overheard you and mommy yesterday." Selina said as she looked up at him. "Did I do something to make you want to leave?"

"Of course not and I'm not leaving, okay. This is our home."

"Really?" Selina asked as her tears started to subside.

"Really." Xander confirmed.

With that said, Selina reached under her bed and handed him a shoe box. Curious to what she was giving him, he opened it and saw his missing car keys.

"I see you really didn't want me to leave." Xander said as he smiled at her.

"Sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about." he said as he stood to his feet, as she layed back in bed. "I'll see you in the morning squirt." he said as he tucked her in, kissed her on the forehead, and walked to the door.

"Uncle Xander." Selina called out, making him turn around.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, babe." he said as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Sunnydale High

The next day

"I heard the vice-principal's taking over till they can find a replacement." Willow was saying as she, Jesse, and Buffy walked across the quad together.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find a new principal." Buffy commented. "Unless they ask what happened to the last one."

"Guys, I wanted to say that I was sorry about what I said." Jesse said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, it wasn't really you." Buffy said with a shrug. "And plus Kyle and his gang don't seem to remember anything either."

"Still, I can't remember all of what happened but, I'm still sorry." and as soon as those words left his mouth, Xander ran up and punched him in the jaw.

"Ow!" Jesse yelled out. "What was that for?"

"For hurting, Willow's feelings." Xander said as he shook his sore fist. "And for..."

"Xander he's not possessed anymore." Buffy informed him. She had forgotten to call him and tell him about what had happened last night.

"And plus he just apologized to me." Willow added.

"Opps." Xander said sheepishly. "Sorry man, but hey nobody messes with my Willow." he said as he gave her a hug, making both Willow and Buffy smile.

"Well, I didn't do anything else, did I, around you guys or anything embarrassing?" Jesse asked still holding his sore jaw.

The girls smiled at that question, and Buffy considered what to tell him.

"Nah!" Buffy lied with a shake of her head.

"Not at all." Willow put in.

"C'mon." Buffy said as she looked over at Willow and Xander. "We're gonna be late."

"See you at lunch." Willow said over her shoulder to Jesse.

"Cool! Oh, hey, goin' vegetarian! Huh?" Jesse yelled as he gave them two thumbs-up. Willow turned and smiled at him. Maybe there was hope for the two yet. As Jesse started to head the other way he was met by Giles.

"Mr. McNally, I've been reading up on my, uh, animal possession, and I cannot find anything anywhere about memory loss afterwards."

"Did you tell them that?" Jesse asked.

"Your secret dies with me." Giles whispered into his ear.

"Oh just shoot me if this ever happen's again." Jesse said half joking.

Giles patted him on the shoulder as he shaked his head and started walking along the balcony. He then leaned on the railing and watched Jesse go.

The Joker's warehouse

"The pack never reported back." Harley said as she finished changing into her jesture's costume and got in the Joker's purple car. "The spell must have ended."

"Who cares?" Joker replied with a short laugh as he threw a black duffle in the backseat. "With the money they stole for me, I can finally finish my plans. Now come on baby, let's recruit some more henchmen."

A/N I wanted Xander to have a bit of a different personality then he did in the show. You see my theory is that the Xander on the show had a white knight personality because he was abused by his parents. That action manifested itself in a way that when he see's someone in trouble he tries to save them. Maybe the powers that be arranged it like that. I don't know.

But the Xander from my fanfic never had to experience that. He never had to experience abuse(of that nature) and basically never had to want for anything. He grew up to be a rich boy, basically. But as Diana put it to him and seeing as what he learned, he see's that this is his destiny. And that he needs the others just as they need him.

Oh and I'm gonna be mixing Batman missions with some of the Buffy episodes and I'll be skipping others. But don't worry for the episode I skip, I'll put up a summary for what happens.

TBC...

Please Review...


	12. Chapter 11 The Waiting Graves

A/N Takes place instead of the episode Angel. Also thanks to Eckles for the killer dialogue between Buffy and Batman in the cemetery. Also I decided to have a little fun in this chapter.

Thanks for all the great reviews. Anthony1 Jesse will have a role to play in the next chapter. Also thanks to randllee, screaminheathen69, Mystiksnake, tdmasternl, VladtheImpish, Garg oyl, and hattenjc. And this is mostly a filler episode for a chapter I have coming up.

Also this is the revised version, because I changed a few things and added some new ones.

Chapter 11

The Waiting Graves

Thursday Afternoon

Wayne Manor

"Hiya!" Diana yelled out as she flipped Xander over her shoulder.

"I thought you said you only studied a little karate?" Xander asked with a wince as he stood to his feet.

"That and a little judo. Plus I was the junior champion in karate two years in a row in highschool." Diana replied with a shrug. "Did I forget to mention that?"

As the two bowed to each other again, in their white practice robes, Diana thought about her own abilities and the night of her husbands shooting. She was taught not to fear when she was a student, but that night she was frozen. She had seen the gun, even before the man pulled it out and in just a blink of an eye her husband was gone.

"You okay?" Xander asked, sensing her discomfort.

"Yeah...I...I was just thinking about some stuff." Diana replied as she came out of her daze.

"Well come on, I think you've wailed on me enough." he replied walking to the door. "I'll cook something for you and Selina for breakfast."

"Oh no, I'll cook." Diana said hurriedly. "I'm still trying to digest what you tried to make for dinner last week."

"Ha ha ha, very funny." Xander said sarcastically as he walked out of the door.

An hour later found the group in the kitchen, eating a bunch of Diana's pancakes. Even though she was just twenty six years old, Diana was still a good cook.

"Have you seen this morning's paper, from LA?" Diana whispered into Xander's ear so Selina wouldn't hear. As Xander picked it up, the front headline read 'Two teens missing and one mutilated body found.'

"God!" Xander whispered to himself as he continued to read. 'This is obviously a demon attack.' Xander thought to himself. 'But from the way they have this typed up they make it seem like a wild dog attack.' "Diana can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah." she replied as they walked into the hallway together.

"I have to go to LA and see if I can handle this." Xander said as he pointed at the headline on the paper.

"But what about the Joker?" Diana asked.

"He hasn't attacked all week. That's not neccessarily a good thing, but it also means that he might not attack anytime soon."

"So how long are you gonna be gone?"

"Probably just for this weekend." he informed her. "But I also need you to be Buffy's backup for me while, I'm gone."

"What!" Diana almost shouted.

"I don't think anything's gonna happen while I'm gone, but just in case I need someone to protect Sunnydale."

"But me? I...I..."

"You're almost better than me at fighting Diana." Xander assured her as he put his hands around her shoulder. "So stop worrying."

"Alright...I...I can do this." she replied hyping herself up.

"Good, now call Miss Summers and ask her if she can keep, Selina for the weekend. Tell her that you're going with me for the weekend."

"Why?"

"Because, you might have to become Batwoman at any time and I don't want Selina being here by herself." Xander told her. "The best way to avoid all of that is to just get her to babysit for you."

"So when are you leaving?" Diana asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Later on tonight." he replied, happy that there was no school on friday, so he would have more time to hunt the demon. "Right after I visit somebody."

Restfield Cemetery

Later that night

"Finally some action." Buffy muttered to herself as she spotted two vampires by a nearby crypt. She hadn't slayed anything in almost three days. Using her cat like grace, she stalked up behind the vamps unnoticed. "Ready to play?" she asked startling both of the vampires.

"Feuew." one of the vampires said relieved. "We thought you might have been the Bat."

"No, I'm the Slayer." Buffy said with a shrug.

"Never heard of ya." the other vamp commented as they shared a look.

"I'm the Slayer. As in vampire Slayer." Buffy clarified. "One girl born in each generation... You must have heard of me, been here about a few months. Me put stake in heart, then you die. I end you people!"

"Ahhh, see that's your problem." the first vampire spoke again. "You kill everybody."

"Kinda the point of being the Slayer. I slay, hence the word."

"But the Bat, you see, he always lets one of his victims live, or rather un-live." the other vampire put in. "So we can spread it around to everybody else."

"This isn't a popularity contest!" Buffy yelled angrily. "I'm mystically destined to off you blood-suckers."

"Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch because his press and rep is better then yours."

"I've probably killed ten-times as many of you creeps then that --- that, flying rodent ever has." she replied in a huff.

"Yeah, but who knows?" the first vamp said with a shrug. "You said so yourself, you kill everything that could vouch for it. The Bat's got cred, you ain't."

"Are you telling me that you'd rather be ashed by a guy who dresses up as a bat, then a bonified and destinely ordained doer-awayer of evil things?" she asked.

"What's your name?" the other vamp asked curiously.

"Buffy." she replied as the other vamps looked at each other with a disgusted expression on their faces.

"Batman."

"Yep, definitely the Bat." the second vamp confirmed.

"Because of my name?" Buffy asked increduously. "You chose him because my name is BUFFY!"

"Hey, don't take it personally. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let someone called 'Buffy' dust me."

"Yeah, the Bat dusting us would give us excellent status with the guys."

"You do realise that - YOU'D BE DEAD!"

"There is always a downside to popularity, everybody knows that. But the Bat would do it so much cooler then just a normal staking of the heart."

"I heard that with Mitch, you know that asshole from crypt 16, that the Bat used some kung-fu style crap, reached in and pulled Mitch's dead heart out of his body and showed it to him before he became ash." the first vampire said as he turned to look at the other one.

"Man, that's cool. No wonder every vamp and demon in town knows and are scared shitless by him. Muffy here wouldn't stand a chance, she's pure second string."

"That's BUFFY!" Buffy screeched angrily. "Aww forget this." she said as she staked both vamps and walked away angrily.

"Oh the Batman's so tough! Oh the Batman is so Awesome! Oh the Batman is so sexy!" she muttered to herself.

"So I'm tough, awesome and sexy, huh?" a voice asked out of the darkness.

"Gaah! Will you stop doing that." Buffy said as she turned to look at him.

"Doing what?"

"Sneaking up on me, it's not funny."

"Sure it is, just not to you." he said with a shrug. "And you didn't answer my question."

"What question is that?" she asked as they fell into step with one another.

"That you think I'm tough, awesome and sexy?" Batman said with an uncharacteristic grin.

"Buy a magazine and use a bathroom." Buffy said in a huff. "I got no interests in guys who hide behind masks, or do the stalker thing."

"Then what guys are you interested in?"

"Not you, and that's all that matters"

"Hmm. 'Not you', that would imply that there is someone you're interested in."

"None of your business."

"Someone you go to school with?"

"Shut-up, this isn't funny. That's a violation of my privacy."

"I'm a detective, I detect things, it's what I do very well - ahem, one of the things I do very well." Batman teased. "So, who is he?"

"I did say 'none of your business, right?" Buffy asked. "You're not selectively deaf or anything are you?"

"No, just insanely jealous." Batman muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Buffy asked, not really hearing him.

"I said I have to take a trip." he lied, but suddenly got all business like. "Have you seen this morning's paper?" he asked as he reached under his cape and handed it to her.

"I can't believe this." Buffy said as she started to read the frontpage. "Those kids were so young."

"Which is exactly why I must go there and end this madness." Batman spoke up. "I realize that I would be leaving you without any help, so I've informed Batwoman..."

"Batwoman?" Buffy asked. "You mean that bitch that kicked me in the stomach a few weeks ago?"

"She was only acting under my orders." he told her. "She didn't have any other choice."

"So this is who this slap should go to then." Buffy said as she slapped Batman hard on the face.

"You know, today you've really showed me your age." Batman said thinking that Buffy was a little more mature than that. "Goodbye Miss Summers." he said as he melted into the night.

Buffy looked after him, until he dissappeared, and couldn't figure out why, she felt so dissappointed in herself. It almost felt like she had hurt a friend's feelings.

The Master's Lair

an hour later

"Sire, Thomas and Lucas never reported back to us." one of the Master's minions said as he bowed down before him and took his hand.

"The Slayer." the Master stated more than asked.

"Yes Master." the vampire said as he stood to his feet.

"She has taken too much of my family as there is." he said thinking of Darla and Luke. "I want you to send for the Three."

"The Three?" his minion asked with wide eyes. Seeing the look of anger flash across the Master's face he quickly relented. "Yes Sire, I'll send for them immediately." he said as he scrambled out of the room.

"Finally, everything will be set as it should." the Master said as he leaned back into the darkness of the room. Little did he know but the Joker had a few plans of his own for that day.

* * *

"Hey mom, I'm home." Buffy called out as she entered her house.

"I'm in the kitchen." she heard her moms muffled reply. And as Buffy entered the kitchen, she saw Diana and her mom sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"Oh...um hi." Buffy said as she spotted the slightly older blonde.

"Nice to meet you again." Diana replied.

"Buffy, Diana's daughter Selina is going to be staying with us for the weekend." Joyce informed her oldest daughter. "It seems that Xander and Diana are going out of town for the weekend."

"Just for business." Diana said quickly as she stood to her feet. "Thanks for the coffee and agreeing to keep Selina."

"Not a problem." Joyce said as the two shook hands.

"We should be back late sunday night, so I'll pick her up monday morning before school."

"That sounds like a plan." Joyce said with a smile.

"I'll see you all later then." Diana replied as she walked to the door.

"Wait." Buffy called out as she ran up behind her.

"Yeah?" Diana said as blue eyes met green.

"Where are you and Xander going?"

"To LA. Why?" Diana asked.

"No reason." Buffy said with a fake smile. "Enjoy your trip."

LA

Midnight

Batman sat crouched on top of a high building overlooking the city. He didn't waste anytime when he got to LA. He immediately found a local nest of vampires and killed all of them but one, because he needed information. The vampire cowered with fear, but he told Batman that he believed the creature to be some kind of a werewolf, it hanged out mostly downtown, and that if he needed more help to go to a local demon bar.

And that's what led the Batman to where he was now. A silent gargoyle of the night, keeping a watchful eye over the city of Angel's. As he was about to move off into another position, his ears suddenly perked up from a noise behind him. Turning, he heard a animalistic growl and saw a huge white paw as it hit him across the face and knocked him over the edge of the building.

The mind numbing pain almost blinded him as he struggled to spread out the wings of his cape. Barely getting them open, it cushioned his fall as he plummeted down into an alley, hitting one wall to the next, the side of a dumpster, and then finally the cold concrete on the ground. Hearing voices, he opened his eyes and saw some black youth's coming in his direction and then nothing as he fell into darkness.

The next day

Summers Residence

"So what do you want to do now?" Selina asked as she and Dawn sat on her bed.

"I don't know let's just watch some tv." Dawn suggested as she switched it on. Flipping through the channels she stopped when she saw a strange looking clown, wearing a purple suit, dancing around and smiling widely.

"Hello boys and girls." the clown said as he stopped dancing around. "Joker here. Are you kids suffering from extreme boredom?"

"Yeah!" Selina and Dawn yelled out at the same time.

"Well come on down to WPTV." the Joker said if answering their yell. "See the producer is happy." he said as the camera switched over to show a very dead white faced man with red lips and a extremely big and unnatural smile on his face. Little did the kids know, but the Joker had hit him with the same kind of toxin that he had given Buffy. And that was the sick and twisted result. "So all you kiddies, come on down to the Joker's playground and don't tell your parents." he said in a whisper.

"So do you want to go?" Dawn asked as she cut off the television set.

"Dawn..."

"Oh just come on." Dawn said as she grabbed her arm.

WPTV

"I just don't understand, Mister J." Harley said as she sat on the Joker's lap. "Why do you want all those little brat's here?"

"Because, I'm gonna ransom them all off." Joker informed her. "Thanks to the magic I used on the video camera's the adults of this town have no idea that their little toddlers are coming here. They'll only find out when I'm ready for them too." (think about that smiletime episode on Angel. The adults couldn't see the hidden message that the puppets had, only the children could.)

"Since when are you into magic?" Harley asked.

"I'm not." Joker said as he started to laugh. "It's just a gift from our honorable mayor."

Sametime

LA

Xander groggily opened his eyes and found only darkness as he tried to see. Quickly dismissing that he was as blind as a bat, he found that it was only a sheet draped over his head. Fully sitting up in the little cot he was laying in, after taking the sheet off of his head, he looked around the room he was in.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw that he was in what appeared to be a warehouse. Hearing voices he was about to get up, when he noticed that his cowl and upper part of his costume was missing. Frantically looking around himself, he saw his mask and body armour laying in a bundle beside him on the floor. Quickly putting on his cowl, he stood up out of the bed and stepped back into the shadows.

"I'm telling you man, he should've woken up by now." Rondale was saying as he and two others entered the room.

"Yeah well..."

"He's gone!" the girl of the group yelled as she noticed the empty cot.

"He couldn't have gotten far, because his body armour is still here." the taller youth said as he walked to the bed and picked it up.

"Actually, I'm still here." Batman announced as he stepped out of the shadows, startling the trio.

"Fuck!" the tallest youth growled out.

"How did you do that?" the girl asked.

"Never mind that." Batman said as he stepped back in the shadows a little. "How and why am I here?"

"We found you unconcious down an alley." the girl piped up. "It looked like you were hurt. So we checked you out and your ribs were bruised, so we brought you here." she said causing him to look down at his body and sure enough his ribs were bandaged up.

"So you know who I am then?" Batman asked.

"Naw dog, we know you wear a mask for a reason." Rondale informed him. "That's why when we took off your mask and body armor, to check you for injuries, we draped a sheet over your head first."

"Why do you care about my privacy?" Batman asked suspiciously. If they only knew the reward they could get for...

"Because, you actually come down to the bad parts of town and actually try to help out." the tall bald man spoke up. "The cops and all them don't give a damn about us, but from what I read about you as a kid..."

"Actually, I'm...nevermind." Batman said, not wanting to correct the slightly older man.

"So what are you doing here?" Rondale asked.

"Haven't you seen yesterday's newspaper?" Batman asked. "Some thing is out there killing innocent children."

"Yeah, we thought it was some vamps." the black girl spoke up. "But after what we saw last night, I guess not."

"What did you see exactly?" Batman asked. He was going to ask, how they knew about vampires but he didn't have a lot of time to get into all of that.

"Well it looked sort of like..."

"A werewolf." the bald guy cut in. "A big, white, freakin'...werewolf."

"That's impossible." Batman said as he walked into the light. "The full moon wasn't out last night, so it must've been a different form of Lycan."

"You really are a good detective." Rondale said with a big smile. Batman was one of his favorite super heroes.

"I have to go." Batman said not answering his question as he picked up his body armor. "By the way, what's all of your names?"

"Well this is Rondale." the girl said as she pointed at the black guy that spoke first. "My name is Alonna and this is my big brother Gunn." she said as she pointed to the angry looking black youth.

"Gunn?" Batman asked with raised eyebrows.

"Charles Gunn." Gunn informed him. "And that's with two N's so don't forget it."

"I want." Batman told him seriously. "I want forget any of you for what you've done." he said as he walked back into the darkness, took off his cowl and changed back into his armor, and finally put back on his mask.

Seeing a large skylight above him, he took out his grappling hook gun and fired up to it.

"Before, I leave I wanted to know what this place is?" Batman asked as he looked at them. "Are you guy's runaway's?"

"More like we lost homes that we can't go back to." Gunn told him. "And we ain't the only one's. Theres about thirty of us here that's lost homes because of vamps and demons."

"I'll see if I can change that." Batman said mysteriously as he dissappeared through the skylight.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Alonna asked her brother.

"He was just talking out of his ass." Gunn replied as she gave him a look. "He's probably just some rich white dude. He doesn't give a damn about us." Gunn just didn't know how wrong he was.

Summers residence

late afternoon

"Buffy." Joyce said as she opened her daughters bedroom door.

"Yeah, mom?" Buffy looked up concerned as she cut the volume down low on her tv.

"Have you seen, Dawn and Selina?" she asked urgently, causing Buffy to frown.

"No..."

"God...I..I think they ran away." Joyce said with a tear in her eye.

"Don't worry about them mom, I'll find them." Buffy said as she stood to her feet and pulled her mom into a hug. "Just call the police and...oh my God!" she almost yelled out as she saw who was on tv. Turning up the volume, her and her mom listened to what the Clown Prince was saying.

"Joker here." he said with an even wider grin. "Are you...the parents of Sunnydale missing something? Namely your little brats?" he asked with a sudden creul snarl. "Well you'll never see them again unless..."

"Mom he has to be at a tv station." Buffy said getting her attention. "I'm gonna go check all of them until, I can find the one that he has Dawn at."

"Buffy no." Joyce said as she grabbed her daughters arm. "Leave this up to the police."

"You mean the same guys that let all these vam...gang members on PCP run loose in the city?" she asked.

Before her mom answered, the tv screen suddenly flashed on the children that were standing behind the Joker. Joyce nearly cried when she saw Dawn and Selina, holding each other and crying softly in terror. Ripping her stare away from the tv, she looked around the room and saw that Buffy was gone.

Sunnydale Street

Later that night

Buffy let out a heavy sigh as she continued her walk. After informing Giles of what was going on, she went to over four news stations, but didn't find anything. Walking to where the last one was she suddenly sensed something and stopped to look behind herself. Nothing. With a shrug, she continued on and walked past an alley and heard a breath making her stop again.

"It's late, I'm tired, and I don't wanna play games." Buffy informed whoever it was. "Show yourself."

One of the Three then roared and dropped down to the sidewalk behind her. With wide eyes she reached into her coat, pulled out a stake and quickly spun around to stake him. But as luck would have it, another of the Three grabbed her arm as she went to swing.

"Wuh!" she said in surprise. And finally the third member came up on her other side and grabbed her other arm. "Ooo! Okay, okay, nice..." was all Buffy could get out as two of them pulled her into the alley and up against a fence, while the last one pulled up the rear and slowly advanced on her.

"Okay, okay... Look, I really don't wanna fight all three of you... unless I have to." Buffy said summoning up her courage as she snap kicked the one in front of her in the crotch, elbowed the third, and went for a punch to the second.

He blocked her swing and thrusted his knee into her gut, slamming her into the fence. The other two recovered and grabbed her again, just as the second one slowly approached her with death in his eyes. Buffy was to terrified to try to fight again, but rather struggled to get away.

The second member of the Three grabbed her head and moved in to bite her neck, just as a shadow came up behind him, grabbed him by the hair and pulled him off of her.

"Is this a foursome or can any girl join in?" Batwoman asked as she punched the vampire in the face.

Buffy was surprised by the help, but quickly regained her head. Using the support of the two vampires holding onto her arms, she kicked up with both feet and hit them both in the face with a straddle kick. One of them grabbed her again and held her against the fence, just as Batwoman continued to fight the other two, punching one and snap kicking the second. Enraged at being beaten by a woman, one of the Three pulled a piece of iron bar off of a window.

"Batwoman, watch out!" Buffy yelled as she saw the vampires swing.

Batwoman turned around, just in time to avoid being sliced in the chest with the bar. Buffy shoved an open palm into her assailant's chin, pushing him off of her, punched him once in the gut and then slammed both fists into his head. Seeing that Batwoman was about to be stabbed, Buffy quickly side kicked her attacker in the face, making him fall back and away from her.

"I think we should get out of here." Buffy said as she helped Batwoman to her feet.

"I'm way ahead of you." Batwoman commented as she reached into her utility belt and threw something at the Three. As they were ready to pounce on the Slayer and the Bat, the gas grenade hissed out a yellow substance sending the Three down to their knees coughing and gagging.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy asked as they ran out of the alley.

"A garlic gas grenade." Batwoman said as she looked back at Buffy. "Now come on, it want last for long." she said as she ran over to a sleek black motorcycle and got on. "Coming miss Summers?"

Not having to be asked twice, Buffy hopped on the motorcycle, and they took off just as the Three exploded out of the alley, roaring loudly.

"Not that I mind the help." Buffy said as they sped down and into the street. "But what are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I suppose." Batwoman informed her. "Didn't you see the Joker's broadcast? He does have your little sister doesn't he?"

"How did you know she was..."

"Batman isn't the only detective, Miss Summers. Now, I've checked four broadcast studios and I wasn't able to find them, but there's only one left."

"Yeah, I know." Buffy said getting her point. "Wanna bust a bad guy?"

"Let's." Batwoman said with a smile as she revved the engine louder and increased the speed of the bike.

LA

Sametime

As Batman walked through the haze of ciggarette smoke and into the underground club, he saw an assortment of demons laughing and having a good time. With a sneer of controlled contempt, he walked through the mass of demons and sat down at an empty table.

Even as he sat down for that first second, he could already feel some of the demons eyes roaming on him.

"We don't get many of your kind around here." a female voice said as she approached him. Looking up he saw a drop dead gorgeous redhead, eyeing him expectantly. As he looked away from her curvacious body and up at her face, he saw her beautiful green eyes flash red. "See something you like bat demon?" she asked, after noticing his look.

"My name isn't bat demon." he said to the demon waitress, a little loudly so others would here. "My name is Batman." with that said some of the demons in the bar started to murmur and whisper amongst themselves.

"And my name is Felecia and I'm out of here." the beautiful demon woman told him.

She barely had time to walk away, before more than a dozen demons set upon him from all angles with knives, clubs, bottles, and pool queues. Seeing that he had to do this the hard way, Batman jumped to his feet, sending his table and chair tumbling to the ground. A horned demon swung a pool queue baseball bat style, making Batman duck under it and come back up with a bone crunching knee into the things groin.

The next demon went down from an elbow to the nose. The third, fourth, and fifth demons moved in together, and Batman dropped those three with a series of vicious rabbit punches to their faces. But it was with numbers six through sixteen that he ran into trouble with. They, for once in their unlives, worked as a team and surrounded Batman. The first one smashed him with a chair. Then, another clocked him in the head with a whiskey bottle. And a third belted him in the jaw with brass knuckles, making Batman stagger back.

Seeing that they had the great Dark Knight on the ropes, the demons descended and beat him to the ground, making all the others present in the room, lose sight of Batman under a rain of kicks, punches, bottles, and swinging pool queues. Then suddenly with a growl, Batman exploded through his attackers, line-backer style, sending them sprawling.

As he was about to go into his utility belt, for something, they all heard someone singing in a loud key. Covering his ears, to avoid the pain, Batman watched as some of the demons curled up into a little ball and squirmed in pain on the floor. As the noise finally stopped, Batman and the others looked up onto the stage and saw a green demon, with red eyes and horns, wearing a loud yellow suit.

"What's going on in..." was all the green demon was able to get out as Batman ran on stage and lifted him off of his feet.

"So you must be the Host?" the Dark Knight asked. "I was told I would find you here."

"Batman, to what do I owe the pleasure of..."

"Shutup!" Batman growled out. "I was told that you were a soothsayer, am I correct?" he asked as the Host nodded. Oh he was so going to call the furies, so they could put up an anti violence spell in his club. "Well then tell me the truth, where is the Lycan that's been murdering innocent children?"

"You see Mr. man..." Lorne squeaked out. "It doesn't work like that."

"Like what!" Batman asked as he tightened his grip on the demons lapels.

"Well, I can only read peoples future if they..." he stopped as he pointed on stage at the microphone and the karaoke machine.

"No." Batman said lowly, as he let go of Lorne. This was truly going to be the hardest mission of his life. He was just glad that Bruce made him and his sister take singing lessons when they were younger.

five minutes later

Batman openly scowled at the other demons in the bar, as the spotlight shined down on him and as he leaned into the microphone as his song started. (Do to the fact that we can't post song lyrics on here, the name of the song Batman was gonna sing is called Am I Blue.)

"Frank Sinatra, eat your heart out." Lorne said as he and all the other demons, even the ones that were wailing on Batman earlier, in the bar applauded and shed a tear. "Batcakes you were wonderful."

"Never call me that." Batman growled as he grabbed Lorne by the arm and took him towards the backroom. It was already embarrassing enough for him to sing, but now he was being called pastries. "Well?"

"The demon you're looking for isn't your standard werewolf." Lorne said, becoming all business like. "It was born pure Lycan, theres no human in there."

"Good to know, now how do I kill it and where is it hiding?"

"You kill it, just like any other Lycan." Lorne said with a shrug. "As for finding it, it's nesting ground is the old McLouver cemetery."

"That's all I needed to know." Batman said as he ran for the door cape billowing, with over a dozen demons giving him a standing ovasion because of his song, as he went.

"Take care Mr. Wayne." Lorne said as he ordered another seabreeze. "You have a lot to overcome." he said, thinking about what he saw in the young man's future.

Sunnydale

sametime

"This is the place." Batwoman said as she and Buffy dismounted her motorcycle, across the street from the tv station.

"Yeah, but the Joker has some guards posted." Buffy commented as she saw some clown clothes wearing thugs blocking the entrances. "So how are we gonna get past them and get to the Joker before he hurts the kids?"

"When there's a will..." Batwoman said with a smile as she pointed up to the roof. "...there's a way. Now let's get a move on."

"Everythings set up, mister J." Harley said as she walked over to him. "As soon as we roll the camera's you can give your list of demands and tell the parents where they can transfer the money too."

"Then by all means, roll the cameras." and as soon as those words left his mouth a smoke bomb was thrown into the room, causing a blanket of smoke to quickly engulf the room and for the children to scream. "What the..." was all he got out as Batwoman emerged out of nowhere and punched him hard on the jaw, lifting him off of his feet.

"Game over." Batwoman said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Another bat?" Joker asked as he stood to his feet.

"Not for long." Harley said as she threw out a kick towards Batwoman.

"Come on kids, I'm gonna get you out of here." Buffy said as she ran over to Dawn, Selina, and the other kids.

"Buffy." Dawn asked as she looked through the haze of smoke.

"Yeah, now come on." Buffy replied with a smile as she led them to a back door.

Knocking on it, she hid on the opposite side and waited until the thug on the other side opened the door. With a simple punch in the gut and a knee to the face, she knocked him out cold.

"Dawn, I need you to lead these kids down this alley and wait for me."

"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked as she looked up at her big sister.

"I have to help, Batwoman." Buffy said as she looked back at the older woman, who was holding the Joker and Harley at bay, and then back at her sister. "Now run."

Not seeing if her sister followed her order, Buffy turned and jumped in the fray.

LA

McLouver Cemetery

Batman nervously scanned the dark and gloomy cemetery, clutching an all silver dagger. He walked through the cemetery for almost half an hour and still hadn't found the Lycan. He knew, in his gut that the beast was there, because he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

As he was about to turn around and walk to another direction, to patrol a grave marker caught his eye. Removing some moss and dirt off of it, with his gloved hand, he saw that it belonged to a woman named Samantha Lockley. As he thought about that last name, he immediately thought about tha beautiful cop he met in LA called Kate. He wondered if the two were related.

A deep menacing growl, followed by a child's scream suddenly filled the air. Ripping his stare away from headstone he took off like a shot to where he thought the scream came from. As he turned around a corner, past a crypt, he saw a large white lycan hovering over a little girl ready to pounce on her. It stood almost eight feet tall, with red eyes, white fur, and with paws almost the size of Batman's head.

"Hey ugly!" Batman shouted getting the Lycan's attention. "Why don't you skip dessert and try to eat a real meal?"

Forgetting all about the little girl, the lycan pounced at Batman. Stepping back towards the crypt, he jumped back when the creature attacked, it's claws tearing through his costume exposing skin. Jumping back again, this time more successfully, the hell spawn hit the crypt sending pieces of brick to the ground. The move also caused it to loose it's footing and slightly shift off balance.

Using that second , Batman jumped forward, thrusting the dagger hilt-deep into the monster's throat. Blood spewed out of the newly made wound, and the lycan demon screeched as Batman pulled his dagger out, before keeling over on the ground.

Already tired from the brief fight, he was about to slump up against the wall, until he suddenly remembered the little girl. Running over to her, he tried to reach down and help her to her feet but she squirmed away.

"Please...please don't hurt me." the little girl begged as she scooted back on the dirty ground.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Batman promised as he looked down at her. The girl didn't look as though she was even older then Selina. "I'm Batman."

"B...B...Batman?" the girl asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm one of the good guys." he said as he cracked a grin. "Now come on, I'm gonna take you home."

Finally trusting him, he helped her to her feet.

"Come on my car is over..."

Aroooooooooo!

A horrible growl sounded off behind him. Pushing the girl safely to the ground, he merely turned around and stabbed the Lycan in the chest with the dagger. Leaving the dagger in the beasts chest, he watched as it slumped over on a grave, finally stopped breathing, and died.

'I'll deal with your body later.' Batman thought to himself. "It's finally over now." Batman said to the little girl, as she trembled on the wet ground. "I'm taking you home."

If Batman had been looking at the demon, instead of walking away, he would have seen two things. One, he would have seen that the Lycan landed on Kate's mother's grave. The second thing was that it's blood started to drip and then soak through the wet area of the soil. And as the powerful engine from the Tumbler sounded, the blood leaked into her coffin. Upon contact, with what was left of her deteriorating tissue, her eyes suddenly snapped open.

* * *

With a quick punch to Buffy's assailant, the last of the Jokers crew fell.

"Batwoman, where did the Joker go?" Buffy asked as she turned around to look at her.

"I don't know." she replied as she struggled to look through the now fading smoke. "They must've..."

"Joker this is the police!" they both heard a police officer yell on a bullhorn outside. "And we have you surrounded."

"Go outside and get the kids to safety. I'll meet up with you in a minute."

"Why?" Buffy asked as Batwoman shot off her grappling hook line.

"I'm a vigilante, remember." the older woman replied with a wink as she dissappeared through the skylight.

Much later that night

Cresthill Cemetery

"So how is your sister and her friend doing?" Batwoman asked, as she and Buffy walked through the cemetery.

"They're doing just fine, but I'm gonna have to explain a few things to my mom, when I get home." she replied with a shrug. "I also wanted to apologize for grabbing you a few weeks ago. I just got so tired of Batman dissappearing on me all the time and..."

"No need to explain." Batwoman cut her off. "He told me about what went on before he left and believe me...he needs a good smack every now and then."

"So how did my girls do without me?" a voice asked out of the darkness, making both girls jump.

"See that's what I meant by, he needed a good smack everynow and then." Batwoman said as she looked up at the smirking Batman, who sat perched on top of a crypt, watching them.

"So did anything happen, while I was gone?" he asked, making both of them look at each other.

"No nothing happened."

"No, nothing at all." Batwoman concurred.

"And in further news..." Batman heard his mini- television say as he unclipped it from his belt.

"It seems that we have a new superhero in town. Earlier today, along with her blonde accomplice, Batwoman managed to foil the plans of the Joker. We go live now, to the video footage." as it showed the video, that was obviously still rolling in the studio, it showed Batwoman taking on some thugs, with a short blonde by her side. Luckily for her the camera never caught Buffy's face.

"You were saying?" Batman asked as he looked between Buffy and his new partner.

"Well..."

"Maybe we did get into a teensy weensy bit of trouble." Batwoman said as she smiled at him.

LA

the next night

"Hey Gunn, this black box was sitting outside for you." a white teen named Bobby, said as he handed the box over to him.

"What the hell." Gunn said as he examined it.

"Don't open it man, it might be a bomb." Rondale warned.

"Who the hell would send me a bomb?" Gunn asked as he glared at his friend. "And..."

"Just open the box!" Alonna yelled out as she ripped it out of her brothers hand, took a knife and opened it. "Oh, my God." she said as she saw what was inside.

"What? What is it?" Gunn asked as he walked up behind her.

"It's money. It's a box full of money." she said as Gunn reached in and pulled out a note.

"I always keep my promises, Batman." he said as he read the note and smiled. As they finished counting the money, they found it to be 500,000 dollars.

Somewhere else in LA

"Sorry, I haven't come to visit you sooner, Sammy." Trevor Lockley said with a heavy sigh and tired eyes as he walked up to his wifes grave sight and layed down a bundle of flowers. "But I was kinda...what the hell?" he said as he looked down and saw that her grave had been slightly disturbed.

Bending down to examine the dirt a delicate, yet dirty, hand suddenly popped out of the grave and started choking him. As he struggled to stand and breathe, his wife, who had somehow reverted back to her once beautiful self, suddenly sat up in her grave.

"Not to worry dear." his wife whispered into his ear. "Now we can be together forever." she said as she sank, her now apparant fangs into his neck.

Trevors screams filled the night air, as his wife feasted upon his flesh.

The Master's Lair

"Your deaths will bring me little joy." The Master was saying as he paced around the Three with a wooden pike in his hands, as they kneeled before him. "But sometimes a little is enough." he said as he started to stake them one by one, until they were nothing more then dust.

"I gotta say." the Joker said as he walked through the entrance of the cave. "I like your style."

"What are you doing here?" the Master asked in annoyance as he looked up at him.

"I thought I could hang out with the guys, you know get some pizza or something." Joker said, as the Master just stared at him. "Okay..okay, I failed my mission too."

"And you came all the way down here just to tell me that?" the Master asked as he sat down on his throne.

"Noooo...I also came to tell you that Batman has been doing some more recruiting. It seems like theres a Batwoman now."

"What!" the Master growled.

"Not to worry." the Clown Prince said as he showed him his cell phone. "I've already called for a little backup of my own."

A/N I got the song from a Justice League Unlimited episode. It was where a greek god turned Wonder Woman into an animal and the only way for her to turn back was for Batman to give up his pride. He was made to sing and that was the song he chose. He was actually very good. Also I know I'm rushing things with Diana, but this story isn't gonna be that long. And part of the fight scene, in lorne's bar, was from the script Batman year one.

TBC...

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	13. Chapter 12 I Robot, You Jane

A/N Again thanks for the dialogue with Buffy and Batman in this chapter Eckles. Also this will probably be the last cannon episode I do until I get to the episode Prophesy Girl. Also in order to semi understand what's happening in this episode, you would have had to have seen the actual episode. I just didn't want to do it in this one, because it's gonna take to long and I found the episode to be kind of boring anyway.

Also thanks for the reviews Dilvish and Anthony1. I hope you two like the these two chapters that I'm about to upload. I was going to originally going o skip this episode, but I didn't want everything to be about Xander.

Chapter 12

I Robot, You Jane

A castle in Cortona, Italy, 1418

A young italian man named Carlo was standing by a window looking into the room at a big green demon, with large horns and red eyes. He was looking his master, Moloch.

"Carlo, my dear one." the demon called out upon seeing him.

Carlo then came into the room and kneeled down before him. With a grin crossing it's demonic face, Moloch stepped over to him and puts his hand on his head.

"Do you love me?" Moloch asked. "I can give you everything. All I want is your love."

"You have my love." and as soon as those words left Carlo's mouth, Moloch growled and viciously twisted his head, snapping his neck.

A church

The head priest, Thelonius was talking to a group of monks, about a demon and they all bore torches.

"It is Moloch." Thelonius warned the other priests. "The Corrupter. He walks again. More and more people have fallen under his mesmerizing power. There is still time to bind him. We must form the circle."

The monks then gathered around him as he opened a large book, but the pages of the book seemed to be blank. But not for long.

"By the power of the circle of Kayless..." as they chanted, Moloch smiled as he straightened up and let Carlo's body fall to the floor. His expression changed however when he realized something was wrong.

"No!" he yelled in outrage as he felt himself, leaving this plane of existance.

The Church

"By the power of the circle of Kayless, I command you! Come!" Thelonius yelled as he held up the book. "I command you! Come! COME!" as he yelled that final command Moloch started to scream and just as suddenly burst into millions of tiny particles.

The particles travelled and fell into the book as an ancient script appeared. When the pages were filled, Thelonius closed it, stepped over to a table and put the book into a heavy wooden box.

"Pray that this accursed book is never again read..." Thelonius said to the other monks as he looked down at the book. "Lest the Demon Moloch be loosed upon the world." and with that he put the lid on the box.

"Ahhh..." Xander said sleepily as he came out of his fit of dreams.

"Xander are you okay?" Diana asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Xander replied groggily, as he lifted his head off of the table and looked at her. "It was just a wierd dream."

"I wasn't really just talking about just now." Diana replied as she sat down next to him and handed him a fresh cup of coffee, which he accepted. "You've been quiet for the last couple of days. Do you wanna talk about something?"

"Well you know that dance on next friday. The one where the girls ask the guys?"

"Yeah, what about it?" she asked as she took a sip of coffee.

"Well Cordelia asked me out." Xander said kind of bummed.

"And...that's a bad thing?" Diana asked increduously.

"Cordelia's a sweet girl and when she asked me out, I couldn't help but say yes." Xander said as he sat the cup of coffee on the table. "But, still at the same time I was hoping that someone else would ask me out. But at times...I just feel that she's not attracted to me in the same way. Plus, I promised my best bud that I wouldn't make a move on her." Xander said as he took a sip of coffee.

"Would this girl happen to be, Buffy?" Diana asked, making Xander spit his coffee out.

"What? Who told..."

"Xander please." Diana said with a raised eyebrow. "Somebody would have to be blind, to not see that you two like each other."

"Well even if it was Buffy. Which it isn't." Xander lied. "I still promised Jesse that I wouldn't make a move on her."

"If Jesse is a good of a friend as you say then he would want you to be happy right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?" Diana cut him off. "Xander, for some people true love only comes around once in a lifetime. Trust me I know." she said thinking of her husband. "Even though you might not love, this girl, right now, one day you might. Do you really think that Jesse would want to have stood in the way of that?"

"How is it, you always know exactly what to say?" Xander asked with a smile.

"It's just a gift." Diana replied with a smile of her own. "Now go, before you're late for school."

"Yes dear." Xander joked as he leaned across the table and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Uncle Xander." Selina said as she walked into the room. "How come, everytime I see you two together you're always kissing?" she joked.

"You mean like this?" he asked as he walked over to her. Instead of giving her a kiss on the cheek, he stuck his tongue out and gave her a raspberry.

"Uncle Xander!" Selina whined, while laughing.

"See you later, babe." Xander sais as he smiled down at her and walked out of the door for school.

Sunnydale High

"I'll see you later, Giles." Xander heard Buffy saying, as she emerged out of the library.

"Getting out of work again, Buff?" Xander asked as he walked up beside her.

"You would too, if Giles asked you to help catalogue and scan some books." Buffy said as they fell into step with one another and started to walk down the hallway. "Listen...um...there's a dance next week and I was wondering...ummm...if..if you would like to go with me to it." Buffy said, finally getting it out. She had wanted to ask him out since last week, but with vampires and all...

"Well, Buff I would like to go but..."

"Hey, Xand." Cordelia said as she looped an arm around his. "I don't want our outfits clashing for the dance. So what did you say you were wearing again?"

"Oh..." Buffy said with wide eyes. "I...I see you already made plans." she said as she quickly walked off.

Xander let out a heavy sigh, as he watched Buffy walk off.

"Um...hello." Cordelia said annoyed, as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "I'm still here..."

A little later that day

"So how did everything go with, Xander?" Willow asked Buffy as they walked down the hall, after class.

"Not good." Buffy said with a pout. "He's taking, Cordelia."

"Cordelia?" Willow asked surprised.

"Yeah...but what about you?" buffy said changing the subject. "Are you and Jesse going to the dance together?"

"No...um, I'm not going to the dance at all." Willow said sadly. "I...I think, I'll just stay home and study."

"Listen Will, if Jesse hasn't noticed you by now, then he probably never will." Buffy informed her. "Why don't you try to find somebody else to go out with?"

"May...maybe." Willow said shyly, even though she wasn't gonna do it. "What about you? Are you gonna go to the dance anyway?"

"Something tells me that the only date I'll have is with the tv." Buffy said as she looped an arm around Willow's shoulders. "Now come on let's go to lunch."

Willow's room

That night

After quickly putting on her pajama's, Willow sat down at her computer and flicked it on. Buffy was right. If Jesse couldn't appreciate her then maybe she should try to go out with somebody else. As her computer booted all the way up, the words "You have mail" quickly sounded. Curious as to who would be sending her mail, she went into her email box.

"Malcolm?" she said as she read the name of the sender. Opening up the mail that he sent her, she read that it simply said "Hi." Shrugging to herself, she responded in kind.

"I'm glad you responded." came Malcolm's reply only seconds after Willow's.

"Who are you?" the beautiful red head, typed back.

"A secret admirer." Malcolm typed, making Willow blush. "I don't want to sound like a stalker or anything, but I saw you earlier today and I had to ask around about you."

"Why?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" he asked increduously. "You're completely beautiful. Besides red has always been my favourite color."

"Thanks for the compliment." Willow said getting a little nervous about the praise. "Maybe we could talk later?"

"No..." he typed back. "Can't we just talk a little longer? I really want to get to know you better."

A hall at Sunnydale High School.

Buffy finished gathering her books from her locker and saw Willow walking around a corner.

"Willow! Willow, hey, wait up!" Buffy called out as she ran over to her.

"Oh, Buffy, I didn't even see you." Willow said finally coming out of her own world.

"Or hear me." Buffy said giving her a look. "What was up last night? I tried your line, like, a million times."

"Oh, I was, I was talking." the redhead replied nonchalantly.

"Talking to...?" Buffy tried to get her to say, but got no answer. "Okay, that's it, you have a secret, and that's not allowed.

"Why not?" she asked as she opened up her locker, to dump in some books.

" 'Cause... there's a rule."

"Well, I sort of met someone." Willow said with a huge smile.

"I knew it!" Buffy said excitedly. "This is so important! When did you meet?"

"Last week after we did the scanning project in the library." Willow said as she closed her locker.

"Does he go here?" the noisy blonde asked curiously. "What's his name? Have you kissed him? What's he like?"

"No, Malcolm, no, and very nice." she replied amused.

"You are a thing of evil for not telling me this right away!" Buffy said more then a little annoyed.

"Well, I wasn't sure there was anything to tell. But last night, oh! We talked all night, it was amazing. He's so smart, Buffy, and, and he's romantic, and we agree about everything!"

"What's he look like?" Buffy asked with a sigh.

"I don't know!" Willow replied as she walked down the hall with a big smile on her face. Buffy was confused by her comment and stared after her a moment, then started to follow.

"Yes, I will. I promise." a heavy set teen named Fritz said to his computer monitor as Willow and Buffy entered the computer lab.

"So, you've been seeing a guy, and you don't know what he looks like?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows. 'How the hell do you pull that off?' she thought to herself. "Okay, this is a puzzle. No, wait, I'm good at these. Does it involve a midget and a block of ice?"

"I met him online."

"You met someone on line for what?" Jesse asked as he walked up behind them.

Before Willow could answer, Mr. Plummer, the new computer teacher, strode quickly into the room holding a mug of coffee in one hand and his books in the other. He was an older man that looked as though he were in his mid-fifties and he was slightly balding.

As he headed over to his desk, he turned and saw a student he didn't know talking to Miss Rosenberg and Mr. McNally.

"Excuse me miss." Mr. Plummer said to Buffy. "But don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"We'll talk about this later." Buffy said as she smiled at the teacher and walked out of the room. If she had of stayed longer, she would have seen that Fritz pulled up her school record.

"Watch her." Malcolm said to Fritz secretly.

"You have mail." Willow's computer beeped out.

"It's him!" Willow squeaked excitedly as she typed to get the message. "I'm thinking of you." the message read. "He's so sweet."

"You met somebody on the internet?" Jesse asked.

"What should I write back?" Willow asked, ignoring what he had said. "I'm thinking of you, too." Willow said excitedly, but then she thought about how lame that was. "No, that's incredibly stupid."

"Will, down girl. Let's focus here, okay? What do you actually know about this guy?"

"Oh, see, I knew you'd react like this." Willow said a little dissappointed.

"Like what?"

"You're jealous." Willow informed him.

"What?" Jesse asked shocked.

"You heard me. You're jealous that I've found someone and you haven't." Willow told him angrily. "Malcolm told me that you would act like this."

"I just wanna make sure you're careful, that's all." Jesse said, trying to control his emotions. "We've been friends forever Will's and I care about you."

"Jesse..."

"He could be different than you think." Jesse said cutting her off. "And like I said before, what do you even know about this guy?"

"His name is Malcolm Black, he's eighteen, he lives in Elmwood, which is about eighty miles from here, and he likes me!" she growled the last part out.

"Short, tall, skinny, fat?"

"Why does everything have to be about looks?"

"Not everything, but some stuff is. I mean, what if you guys get really, really intense, and then you find out that he... has... a hairy back?"

"Well, no! Uh, he doesn't talk like somebody who would have a hairy back. And anyways, that stuff doesn't matter when you really care about each other. Maybe I'm not his ideal either."

"Hey, " Jesse said putting his arm around her shoulder. "I'm just trying to make sure that he's good enough for you. I think it's great that you met someone." he said not really meaning it. For some reason, he didn't want Willow dating anyone.

"Excuse me, Fritz... I'm, uh, lookin' at the logs." Mr. Plummer said as he walked over to him. "You and Dave are clocking in a large amount of computer time. Care to explain why?"

"New project." Fritz replied, not looking up at him.

"Something new huh?" the old man asked as he rubbed at his chin. "Will I like it?"

"You'll die."

Later that day

the quad

Willow walked down the steps of the highschool off in her own world and didn't notice Jesse sneaking up beside her. With a smile he put his hand over her eyes, and forcing her to stop and nearly making her lose her balance.

"Guess who?" Jesse said into her ear.

"Uh, Jesse?" Willow played along.

"Yeah, but keep guessing anyway."

"Jesse." Willow said, making him take his hands from her eyes.

"I just wanted to apologize for acting like a jackass earlier." Jesse informed her. "And to ask if you're going to Xander's party, tomorrow?"

"Xander's throwing a party?" Willow asked. "How come nobody told me?"

"You have to be kidding me?" Jesse asked increduously. "Every teenager in Sunnydale is gonna be there and it's right before the school dance."

"I guess, I just had some better things to do." Willow told him.

"Let, me guess..." Jesse said with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "It's Malcolm, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Willow replied . "Have a good time." she said as she quickly left, leaving a confused Jesse in her wake. Xander then arrived and watched her go, too.

"Willow looks perky." Xander said startling him.

"Yeah, color in the cheeks, bounce in the step... I don't like it. It's not healthy." Jesse quickly said as they began to walk.

"You sound jealous man."

"What are you talking about?" Jesse asked as he whirled on him.

"You are jealous." Xander realized with a big smile.

"Of what?"

" Of Willow and her new boyfriend."

"Oh, that's meaningless drivel." Jesse said as he looked at him hard. "I'm not interested in Willow like that."

"Why not?"

"Willow's my friend and it's just... this Malcolm guy? What's his deal? I mean, tell me you're not slightly wigged."

"Actually, I'm not." Xander said with a shrug. "I hate to sound rude for saying this but you really need to grow up and see what's right in front of you. Willow's a beautiful girl, who obviously had a thing for you for a long time. Now that she's finally found someone, you're acting like you can't deal with it."

"You're crazy man." Jesse said, trying to figure out if he was right or not.

"Am I." Xander said as he walked off.

Batcave

Later that night

"Xander you seem frustrated about something." Diana commented as she saw him angrily tapping at the keys on the bat computer.

"I've been trying to get in contact with my dad." Xander said as he stopped typing and looked up at her. "He hasn't answered his communicator all week and I'm worried about him."

"Well maybe he's just real busy." Diana said as she sat down next to him. "I mean he has to run a company during the day and then be Batman at night, to put all the criminals the Joker let loose, back in prison. That's gotta be tiresome."

"Maybe you're right." Xander said as he stood to his feet and shut off the computer. "I think, I'll just go on patrol to clear my head." he said as he walked over to the costume room. If Diana had of been looking at the computer, instead of Xander's retreating form, she would have seen a green demon on the screen looking at her curiously.

Restfield Cemetery

As Batman jumped from crypt to crypt, he suddenly spotted the Slayer. Deciding to have a little fun with her, he quietly snuck up behind her.

"You're finally able to sense me." Batman said as he let go of the leg Buffy tried to kick him with.

"Yeah, now is there a reason you've made another appearance out of thin air?"

"I was bored." Batman said as they fell into step with one another. "When I think boring, I think of you."

"Ex-squeeze-Me?" Buffy said as she gave him a look.

"I mean, you're not a boring person. You're Ms Excitement. Things are never boring around you, and if they are they're never boring for long. So if I hang out with you, some excitement is bound to come my way sooner rather then later."

"Boredom vs. Excitement. Wow, Bats, you really know how to make a girl feel totally appreciated." she said, dripping with sarcasm.

"Don't take it personally, Ms Summer's. I find you to be a very exciting person to be around."

"Yeah, well, you're the only one." she said deflated.

"Troubles in paradise?"

"What are you? Dr Ruth? What makes you think I got problems?" Buffy said, only for the Dark Knight to give her a look.

"Okay, look, just because I unburden myself to you doesn't mean I like you, it just means you're the only one here and I need to tell someone."

"Then speak."

"Alright then - There's this guy I know. Total hottie, funny, smart, all the good things."

"The problem?"

"How do you know there's a problem?" Buffy asked.

"You're a teenager. Teenager's problems are always greater then everybody else's by their own perspection."

"Alright, here's the thing." Buffy said giving in. "He's got Cordelia trying to sink her claws into him, and hey, I'm not blind - I get it! The woman's got breasts bigger then my head and I'm totally out of my league. He's a sweet and caring guy. But he's also a teenage boy. And the head that teenage boy's think with are not the ones attached to their neck."

"You think he's attracted to breasts?"

"Hello, teenage boy remember. Breasts are like a 24/7 thought process."

"What if he's a leg man?"

"Cordy, has a pair of those too." she pointed out.

"I think you have to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. If he's everything you say he is, and if this 'Cordy' is as obvious as you make out. Then the two of them have already done it."

"They haven't, if they did Cor would have made a effort to let me know about it straight away. Not too much on the subtle hints is she."

"Well then, if the two of them aren't 'together' yet what's the problem?"

"I guess I'm scared that if I make a move he'll put me in the same gold-digging class as Cordelia. And I like him, Hell, I'd like him if he was dirt poor. But how would he be able  
to trust my true intentions?"

"Believe me Ms Summer's, he'd know." Batman informed her. "And as too this 'Cordelia-woman' you're so concerned about, well I'm sure that if he had a choice with being with her and her breasts or just walking at night in a cemetery with you. Take it from me, it wouldn't even be a contest."

"That was so swe..." before Buffy could get the words out, something growled and punched her in the face. The force of the blow lifted her off of her feet, where she landed in a heap almost ten feet away.

Looking up, at their would be attacker, Batman saw a large green skinned demon with horns and one red eye, that seemed to be staring through his very soul.

"By the order of the Master...you die!" it growled out as it charged at the Dark Knight.

Ducking under it's outstrecthed arm's, Batman came up and spin kicked the demon in the face. As the demon's head twisted back from the move, a batarang suddenly embedded itself in his eye, causing him to howl out in pain. As it slumped over, Buffy stood to her feet and visciously snapped it's neck.

"So are you having any other problems?" Batman asked as the demon fell over dead and they continued their walk.

"Well not me, but I think my friend Willow is or might."

"What do you mean?"

"Well she met this guy on the internet and I think he might be dangerous."

"Why do you think that?"

"It's just a gut feeling that I have." Buffy said as she looked over at him. "And what's even wierder is that I asked some guys in her computer class, Dave and Fritz, to try to see if they could track his emails and they started to freak out."

"So you think that they might be up to something?" Batman asked.

"Big time."

"I like Miss Rosenberg." Batman said as he stopped walking. "So if you say that she might be in trouble, then I'll look into it."

"Thanks." Buffy said as she turned around, only to find Batman already gone.

The next day

Computer lab

Xander walked into the computer lab and wasn't a bit surprised to see a nerdy youth, typing away at the computer.

"Are you, Dave?" Xander asked as he walked up behind him.

"Ye...yeah." Dave replied nervously. "You're Xander Wayne, right?"

"I am." Xander said with a grin. "Now listen, Dave I need a little favor from you. Some guy has been bothering a friend of mine via email and..."

"You leave, Willow alone!" Dave almost yelled out.

"So you do know what's going on?" Xander asked as he grabbed the nerd by the collar, "Well listen then Dave. Willow's a good friend of mine and I love her like a sister. Having said that, if anything happens to her, that you could have helped me stop I'll come after you. Do we understand one another?"

"Y...yeah." Dave managed to get out. "I'll tell you everything I know. Just not here." he said nervously looking about the room.

"Alright not here." Xander agreed, as he let him go and reached into his jacket pocket. "Just meet me at my house for the party, I'm throwing tonight." he said as he gave him the invitation and walked out of the room. He still had one more nerd to trail.

Dave looked down at the invitation in his hands and let out a heavy sigh. 'God can my life get more complicated?' he thought to himself.

"So you're going to tell him everything?" a voice asked through the darkness of the room.

"Moloch?" Dave asked as he stood to his feet and looked at his computer.

"I'll teach you not to betray me." he said as he started to write a suicide note on his computer. Little was known to Dave, but someone was waiting for him in the shadows.

Batcave

Later that night

Batman quickly typed at his computer, trying to find out what the company CRD was. When he had left Dave, he had later followed Fritz and saw him going into a building marked CRD.

"Xander there's a party going on up here." Diana whispered from her commuication device, so nobody would overhear. "It would be nice if the host would show his face sometime soon."

"I'll be up in a minute." Batman replied. "Just stall them, I'm onto something right now." he said as he severed the communication link.

"Miss Kyle is right." a voice said in the cave. "Keeping your guests waiting is rude." Looking up Batman saw the face of a green demon with horns, on his computer monitor. "Oh don't look surprised Mr. Wayne." the demon said with a smile. "I know all about you."

"Who are you?" Batman asked, stepping to his feet.

"My name is Moloch the Corrupter, Mr. Wayne." Moloch told him. "But my friends call me, Malcolm."

"How do you know..."

"About your secret identity?" the age old demon asked. "Let's just say that, I had my way with your computer. I know all about you and your friends."

"What do you want?" Batman asked, none perturbed.

"The simple things. Things like power and love... especially from Willow."

"You stay the hell away from her." Batman warned.

"You're hardly in any position to threaten me, Alexander." Moloch told him nonchalantly. "Now I'll give you ten minutes to go up top and get rid of your party guests. When you get back, I want you to transfer your fortune over to my secret account." he told him. Moloch still didn't have enough power to go global. If he did he would have just done it, himself.

"And if you don't obey with what, I say then I'll send all the files I have on you to the police." the demon said smugly. "And let's just say that even your father want be able to talk himself out of this one."

Wayne Manor

Xander moved through the crowd of teenagers, smiling brightly. Seeing Diana serving some drinks too a few guests, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side.

"Get too the piano room and wait for me there." Xander whispered into her ear. "Don't talk, just go."

"Hey, Xand this is a nice party." Buffy said as she and Jesse walked up to him.

"I'm glad you like it, Buff." Xander replied. "If you would excuse me for a moment." he said as he walked into the center of the room.

"What is he up too?" Jesse asked Buffy.

"I have no clue." she replied with a shrug.

"Can I have your attention please!" Xander spoke loudly to get everyone's attention. "I just wanted to say a few things to you guys. Firstly, I wanted to say thanks to all the bums that made it to my party." he said causing several of them to laugh.

"But seriously, why don't you back biting, gold digging jackasses get out of my house." Xander said as he started to look around at them. "Most of you people, I don't even know and the only reason you're here is just to suck up to me, hoping I'll share my money. Well I want all of you to get the hell out of my house. NOW!"

With wide eyes from all of his guests, they all started to leave, until only Cordelia, Buffy, and Jesse were left.

"I can't believe that I even wanted to go out with you." Cordelia said as she slapped him hard across the cheek. "Consider, our date for tomorrow off." she said in a huff as she walked out of his house.

"I thought you were so different." Buffy said, as Jesse merely shook his head, as the both of them walked out.

"Damnit." Xander muttered to himself as he ran into the piano room. "A demon has somehow gotten into the internet." Xander said quickly to Diana as he picked up his Batsuit off of the floor and started to put it on. "He has information on all of us and if I don't give into his demand's and hand over the money dad gave me, we're all going to jail."

"What do you want me to do?" Diana asked.

"I want you to go downstairs and stall him for a little while." Xander said as he put on his cowl. "I'm gonna go see Giles and tell him what's going on."

"Aren't you gonna take the Tumbler?" she asked as she hit the keys on the piano.

"No. Alot of the systems in the Tumbler are computerized. If I try to drive it and he get's control, I'll be a sitting duck."

Sunnydale Library

"This will be my first year at Sunnydale High, aswell." Giles was saying to Mr. Plummer as he poured him some more tea.

"Is it just me or is this place...dear lord!" he bellowed with wide eyes as he saw something over Giles' shoulder.

"Sorry to disturb you gentlemen." Batman said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Batman what's..."

"I don't have a lot of time, Mr. Giles." Batman interrupted, even as he saw Mr. Plummer trembling on the floor. "There's a demon by the name of Moloch on the internet and he's..."

"Moloch the Corrupter?" Mr. Plummer asked as he stood to his feet and calmed himself down.

"Yes, how did you..."

"My family were the original one's to banish him, long ago." the old teacher answered.

"Who are you really?" Giles asked the man.

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that Moloch has been unleashed."

"But how?"

"In the dark ages the souls of demons were sometimes trapped in certain volumes." Mr. Plummer explained. "They remained locked within the book, harmless, unless the pages were read aloud. Moloch, the Corrupter, was a very deadly and seductive demon. He drawed people to him with promises of love, power, knowledge. Preys on impressionable minds."

"He's not confined to a book anymore and he's not walking around." Batman said drawing the attention, back to himself. "Like I said, he's in cyberspace now."

"I'm afraid, I don't know how that happened."

"I do." Giles said as he saw the book in question, sitting on his table. "We must've accidently skimmed it into the computer."

"You mean scanned." Mr. Plummer corrected him.

"Giles call Buffy on her cellphone and tell her to meet me at the CRD building." Batman said.

"Right." Giles said until he thought about it. "What?"

"That's where Moloch's croonies are. Now I'll also need you to perform the binding rituals to put him back in that book." Batman said as he melted into the darkness of the room.

CRD Lab

Willow groggily opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on a table, in a dark room.

The last thing she remembered was talking to Fritz and then nothing.After a moment she sat up. looked around and saw the boy in question and a technician standing on the other side of the room, by a computer monitor.

"Welcome, my love." she heard Malcolm's voice. "I can't tell you how good it is to see you..." he said as his metal hand slaps down on a table. As Willow looked up, terrified, she saw a large metal robot demon with horns. "...with my own two eyes."

"Malcolm." Willow whispered. As she tried to get up, Fritz and the technician then came to get her and took her by the arms as Moloch slowly walked over.

"This world is so new, so exciting. I can see all of it." Moloch rambled on. "Everything flows through me. I know the secrets of your kings. But nothing compares to having form again. To be able to walk," he said as he put his hand on Fritz's head. "to touch," he said as he broke Fritz's neck. "to kill."

Willow shivered inside as she watched Fritz's dead body fall. Terrified beyond belief she looked back up at Moloch, awaiting what fate he had in store for her.

Outside

Buffy landed gracefully on her feet, as she jumped to the other side of the fence. Snagging his foot, Jesse yelled as he fell after climbing over the top. With a sigh Buffy helped him to his feet.

"Jesse, are you sure you want to be here?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." Jesse winced. "Back way?"

"Back way." Buffy agreed. Jesse was limping but they still managed to get to the rear entrance. Kicking the door open, Buffy walked in determinedly.

* * *

"Here they come." Moloch muttered to himself. 

"I don't understand. What do you want from me?"

"I want to give you the world." Moloch said as he took her hand in his.

"Why?" Willow said shrugging out of his grasp.

"You created me." Moloch said, missing her contact. "I brought these humans together to build me a body. But you gave me life. Took me out of the book that held me. I want to repay you."

"By lying to me?" Willow asked increduously. "By pretending to be a person? Pretending you loved me?"

"I do!

The lobby

Buffy and Jesse walked up to a CRD guard and as he got up to stop them, Buffy punched him out and continued walking. Jesse then noticed the guard's monitor.

"Uh, Buffy!" he called out, making her come back to look.

"It's her." she said spotting Willow.

"Yeah, who's the other guy?"

Walking down another hall Buffy they burst through another set of doors. Seeing the door to the lab, Buffy used her Slayer strength to try to force it open.

"I can't bust it." she said straining against the door. "It's heavy steel."

"Then let's find another way in." he said as he started toward the next set of doors when an alarm went off and red lights started to flash. Jesse jumped to the door to try it, found it locked, then walked back over to Buffy. "What's goin' on?"

"Building's security system is computerized." Buffy said as she spied a security camera.

"Whoops!" Jesse said as green gas started to spray into the hall.

The library

"Almost there." Mr. Plummer said as he lit a few more candles and gathered his book.

"Couldn't you just stop Moloch by, by entering some computer virus?" Giles asked.

"Mr. Giles, you've seen way too many movies. Okay! We're up. You read, I type. Ready?"

"Uh, I am. By the power of the divine, by the essence of the word, I command you..."

"Let me leave." Willow begged.

"But I love you!"

"Don't say that!" she yelled out. "That's a joke! You don't love anything!"

"You are mine!" Moloch clarified.

"I'm not yours! I'm never gonna be yours! Never!"

She yelled causing Moloch to lower his head and considered for a moment while Willow just watched and waited.

"Pity." he muttered as he raised his head back up and reached out to make a grab for her, only for a batarang to be embedded in his arm.

"Sorry, I'm late Miss Rosenberg." Batman said as he glided down from the rafters. "Now is this your boyfriend?"

As the two started to fight, Moloch knocked Batman to the side then cornered Willow again. As she tried to flee, he reached up and put his hand on her head.

"I'll miss you." he said causing her to scream. Suddenly Moloch screams matched her own as he lifted his arms in pain, letting go of her.

His power weakening, the lab door opened and Buffy almost fell in, with Jesse close behind.

Spotting Moloch she leaped into a jumping side kick, making a dull thud when she connected with his chest. The impact made him stagger a bit, but she fell to the floor.

"Ow... Guy's made of metal!" Buffy said as Batman helped her to her feet.

The technician grabbed Jesse from behind and pulled him away, just as Buffy grabbed Willow's arm and watched as Moloch continued to writhe in pain.

"No!" the metal demon yelled. "I won't go back!"

"Willow let's go." Buffy said as they ran out of the lab.

Jesse pushed the technician back into a wall, turned around, punched him out, and quickly followed the others out.

"Hey! I got to hit someone!" he yelled out excitedly. As he ran into the hall Moloch slowly raised his head, as his screams died out.

Buffy and Willow opened a set of doors and saw a guard and two technicians running toward them. Not needing another confrontation, they pushed the doors closed.

"Let's go this way!" Jesse said as he began to run the other way.

"Wait!" Buffy yelled, feeling her Slayer sense tingling.

Suddenly Moloch crashed through the wall between them. He looked at Buffy and backhanded her in the face. As she fell to the floor unconscious, Moloch turned and advanced on Batman, Jesse and Willow. He started to swing at Batman, and he tried to block the hit, but Moloch didn't budge and just pushed the Bat aside and into the wall, making him slide to the floor, a bit dazed.

"I was omnipotent. I was everything!" Moloch yelled angrily. "Now I'm trapped in this shell!" he said as he reached out to grab Batman by the head.

"Malcolm!" Jesse yelled out. As Moloch turned to face him, Jesse slapped him in the face with a fire extinguisher. "I knew you were no good for Willow. I'm the only one who loves her!" he yelled as he hit Moloch again even harder.

He tried again for his chest, but this time the demon grabbed the extinguisher from him, threw it down, grabbed him and shoved Jesse down the hall into Batman, who was just getting up again., making them both crash in a heap to the floor. By that time Buffy recovered from her daze and got up to face Moloch. Sensing her movement he turned his attention on her.

"This body's all I have left." Moloch said looking down at himself. "But it's enough to crush you!"

Buffy looked around for a way to deal with him and noticed a power junction box on the wall. With a grin she faced him again and eased her way in front of the box.

"Take your best shot."

Enraged, Moloch reared back for a punch and swung, but Buffy ducked away, and he punched right into the electrical box. It shorted out, and Moloch was then enveloped by high voltage electricity. Seeing what was about to happen Buffy ran over to Willow and Jesse, just as Batman crouched down to protect them with his cape. Moloch's circuitry then overloaded, and his body exploded, shooting his head straight up in the air, where it landed in front of them.

Sunnydale High

The dance

"I still wanted to say that I'm sorry." Xander yelled to Buffy over the blaring of the loud music.

"Like you said it wasn't your fault." Buffy said back to him. "You could have lost your entire fortune if you didn't do what Moloch said and made us leave. I'm just sorry it cost you a date with Cordelia though."

"I'm not." Xander said as he twirled her around and pulled her close. She looked beautiful in the red dress she was wearing. And looking down at his tuxedo, he knew he didn't look half bad himself. "I can't think of any other person I would rather be with right now." as he looked into her eyes he, just for that moment, felt that she was the only other girl in the room. As he was about to lean down and kiss her on the lips, she suddenly pulled back.

"Have you seen, Willow and Jesse?" she asked. "They said they were gonna meet us here."

"I haven't seen them." Xander said a little dissappointed. "You don't think they're in trouble do you?"

"Let's go and find out." Buffy said as they ran off the dance floor.

As they walked by the library, Xander peeked in the window of the door and suddenly blushed.

"Come on, let's go back and dance." Xander said as he grabbed her hand and started to pull away.

"Why..." was all Buffy got out as she looked in and blushed herself, upon seeing Jesse and Willow passionately kissing.

Batcave

Much Later

Xander sat at the batcomputer, making out a file on Moloch the Corrupter, when he suddenly thought about his father. Clicking save on the file, he picked up his communicator. As the snowy picture cleared, he saw the blurred image of the Batman of Gotham.

"Dad, I've been trying to get in contact with you all week." Xander informed him.

"Xan...Xander?" Batman asked tiredly.

"Dad are you okay?" Xander asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I just need some...AHHHHHH!" Batman shouted out as something hit him from behind.

"DAD!" Xander shouted with wide eyes as the communicator/monitor went back to it's snowy image.

A/N Xander is gonna take a little trip to Gotham and the mystery hero is finally gonna show up in Sunnydale. Along with a few villians.

TBC...

Please Review...


	14. Chapter 13 World's Finest Pt 1

Chapter 13

World's Finest pt.1

Thirty minutes later

Batcave

Black scalloped gauntlets thrust onto purposeful hands. A dark cloak whipped around strong shoulders. Xander then placed his graphite cowl over his face. Grabbing a handful of batarangs they all quickly clicked as he spread them out around his utility beltt. Running into the dark void of the cave, bat's fluttered as the loud engine of the Tumbler kicked to life.

Summers Residence

Dawn wrapped herself in Buffy's arms, as they layed back on her bed and watched a movie. Every since, Buffy had saved her life the two had started to get close. Dawn would still annoy her at times, but she knew it was all in fun.

Passing the popcorn over to her little sister, Buffy suddenly sensed somebody watching her and looked at the window.

"Dawn could you go downstairs and get me something cool to drink?" Buffy asked, only for Dawn to look at her in confusion.

"But you already have a soda." she pointed out.

"I know but it's um...flat." Buffy lied. "Please sis..." she said putting on her best puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Dawn said in a huff as she sat up. "I'll be back in a minute." she said as she walked to the door.

"And bring lot's of ice!" Buffy yelled out to her as she opened her window. "What are you doing here?" she asked as Batman climbed through her window.

"I...I don't have alot of time to explain." Batman said quickly. "The Batman in Gotham is in trouble and I have to go and save him."

"You're shaking." Buffy noticed as she looked at his body. 'And it looks like he's been crying.' she noticed as she saw wet spots on his cheeks.

"I'm fine." he replied as he handed her a cellphone looking device. "That's a communicator so you can call Batwoman if you need assistance. Goodbye Miss Summers." he said as he started to climb out of her window.

"Take care of yourself." Buffy said worriedly. She had never seen the Dark Knight like that before and it unnerved her a bit.

"Count on it." he said as he jumped out of the window.

The Jokers Lair

"Joker why the hell did you call us here?" a figure asked as they sat around a table, in the dark.

"That's what I would like to know?" a female voice stated. "Just what the hell are we doing in this rinky dink town?"

"This rinky dink town is also home to many secrets." Joker started.

"Yes, demons." the male voice spoke again. "We know all about that."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about just demons." Joker clarified. "I'm talking about all the money and gold that's transferred through Sunnydale and then to different states."

"What are you talk..."

"This place is just used for a cover to ship america's gold through." he interrupted. "Now I need to know who's in to help steal those shipment's because there's one tomorrow night."

"I'm in." Poison Ivy said as she leaned into a narrow shaft of light.

"And I..." the other voice said as he flipped his double sided coin in the air. But strangely only one side of his face could be seen. The other was still hidden in shadow. Seeing that it landed on the scarred coin face, he smiled. "...am in." Two- face said as he smiled. And for the first time he leaned into the light and his hideously disfigured, acid burned face was shown.

"And what about you?" Joker asked as he and the others turned to the last member of their party.

"Your leadership skills leave much to be desired." the voice said almost monotonelessly. "But, I'm in." Mr. Freeze said as he looked at them with cold eyes.

"Good." Joker said as he produced a map. "Now just in case the bat shows up, this is what I want you to do."

First Municipal Bank

The next afternoon

7 P.M.

Buffy stood in the long line at the bank and let out a sigh. 'God, why couldn't mom come here and make the mortgage payment?' she thought to herself. 'And who is that with that bad BO.' she thought as a fat man in front of her turned around and gave her a wink.

Suddenly the sound of machine gunfire filled the air, instantly making people scream and duck for cover. Looking up, from her place of hiding, she saw the clown prince himself strolling through the front door, with his cronies right behind him.

"I love seeing fear late in the evening." Joker said as he lowered, the still smoking barrel of the machine gun as he walked over to the front desk. "Now start filling these bags with money NOW!" he yelled to the teller as he and some of his goons threw some bags on the counter.

Seeing that the Joker was distracted, Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the communicator that Batman had given her. Making sure the Joker wasn't looking, she pushed a button.

Wayne Manor

Selina's bedroom

"Mommy when is Uncle Xander coming back home?" Selina asked, making Diana pause in picking her clothes out for school next week.

"I don't know honey." she said as she went back to looking through her clothes. "Why are you asking?"

"Because, I keep feeling that him and Grandpa are in trouble." she told her worriedly.

'Wait until Bruce hears that grandpa crack.' Diana thought to herself with a slight chuckle. "Don't worry about them honey. Xander's just gone to check on Grandpa and he'll be back soon." she said as the computerized watch she was wearing started to beep.

"What's that?" Selina asked as Diana pushed a button to cut off the noise.

"Oh, um...It's just something to help mommy remember to take her...vitamins." she lied. "Stay here, I'll be right back." she said as she quickly ran out of the room.

As she entered the Batcave, she went to the computer and saw that the signal was coming from a nearby bank.

"Buffy must be in trouble." she muttered to herself as she ran into the costume room to change. Running back upstairs, she peeked into Selina's room and saw her softly sleeping on her bed. Not wanting to disturb her, plus since she was wearing her costume, she quickly jotted down a note telling her to stay put and left to help Buffy.

Five minutes later

"Boss don't you think we should leave now?" one of the Joker's thugs asked as he looked around the bank.

"Not until we have every single dime in this place."

"But what about the police?"

"Don't worry about them." Joker said flashing him an evil grin. "Thanks to an old friend of mine, I have the police under my thumb. Hey, sit back down!" he yelled to a blonde that tried to stand to her feet.

"Wait, don't I know you?" he asked Buffy as he walked up to her.

"With an ugly face like that, how could she forget?" a voice asked. Turning he saw Batwoman standing proudly on top of the bank counter, with her cape billowing dramatically behind her.

"You!" Joker growled as he and his other cronies opened fire on her.

Loud bangs and whistle's of bullets filled the air, as she jumped from the counter and ducked behind the counter. Almost a hundred bullets were fired, before the Joker and the others decided to stop shooting. Not seeing or hearing any movement from behind the counter, he smiled.

"Todd, go and check things out." Joker ordered as he pushed one of his thugs ahead of him.

Hefting up his gun, Todd slowly walked over to the bullet hole riddled, desk and leaned over. He quickly regretted it however, as Batwoman grabbed him by the collar, flung him over the desk and knocked him unconcious.

"I'm getting out of here." one of his thugs said as he and the others turned to flee.

Standing up from her place of hiding, Batwoman flung a handful of steel ball- bearings across the tiled floor. The minion that spoke, tumbled to the floor and landed hard, losing his breath. While the second one managed to roll up, pulling his other gun out in the process.

Seeing the weapon, Batwoman hurled a batarang and the thug suddenly found his gun hand pinned to the wall by the twin prongs of the weapon. With a grin, she strided briskly toward them, businesslike, taking her time. She grabbed a handful of the first hoods hair, lifted his head off the floor, knee'd him in the face and turned to the second hood. As she went over to him, a drug-tipped blade sprung from the end of his glove. Jumping back, to avoid his knife slash, she reared back punching him hard on the chin, making him slump against the wall, unconscious.

"You stupid, Bitch." Joker growled out. "You're trying to ruin everything." he said as he lifted up his machine gun. Before he could open fire, Buffy did a leg sweep that sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Do you kiss your mom with that potty mouth?" Buffy asked as she stood side by side with Batwoman. Both of them in fighting stances.

"She's dead." Joker said with a wince as he stood to his feet. "Just like the both of you are gonna be in about thirty seconds."

"Let me handle them boss." a hulking figure said as he entered the room and pushed the Joker to the side. The man had to be almost 6 ft seven, wearing a clown outfit and muscles that would put the incredible hulk to shame. "I ain't scared of these little girls."

"Ladies, let me introduce you to Juggles." Joker said as he slapped him hard on his muscled shoulder. "Have fun." he said as he picked up a large sack of money and ran out of the building.

"Why does it always have to be clowns?" Buffy asked as she glanced over at Batwoman.

"Freakishly big clowns." Batwoman muttered as Juggles started to advance on them. "Let me handle him." Batwoman said as she stopped Buffy from moving forward.

"I tell you what Batbitch." Juggles said as he stopped five feet from her. "I'll let you have the first hit." Not having to be told twice, she punched him as hard as she could in the gut. And to her dismay he didn't flinch or even bat an eye lid.

"Is that all you got?" he asked with a short laugh. "The great..." and he stopped talking as he heard a beeping sound. Looking down to his belt buckle he saw a little black device on it. Before he could remove it, it suddenly sparked and started sending a volley of electricity through his body. As the device stopped, he fell bonelessly to the floor unconcious.

"The Joker's long gone." Buffy said as she ran to the door and then looked back at Batwoman.

"I figured as much." she said as she removed her device from Juggles and placed it back on her utility belt. "Now come on let's..."

"Wait, I have to do something first." Buffy replied as she reached into her pocket and ran past the people still cowering on the floor. "Hi Mr. Packard, this is my mom's mortgage payment for this month."

"Tell..." Mr. Packard said still trembling. "Tell your mom not to worry about the mortgage for the rest of the year, Buffy. We'll cover it." he said with a smile as he passed out to the floor.

* * *

"So what was the Joker doing robbing a bank?" Buffy asked, as the wind ripped through her hair, on the back of Batwoman's motorcycle.

"Well underneath it all he's still a two bit criminal, Miss Summers."

"But he was mumbling something to his cronies about gold." Buffy replied as they whipped down another street and towards the outskirts of town.

"I'll look into it." Batwoman said as she revved the engine getting herself prepared. "Now hold on!" she said, making Buffy look up and see a waterfall, covering over a rock face.

"I'm never gonna get used to thissss!" Buffy yelled out, with closed eyes, as Batwoman made the jump.

Thirty minutes later

"Sorry for leaving you down here." Batwoman said to Buffy as she walked down the stairway and into the lab area. "I just had to check on a few things." she said, reffering to Selina, who was still sleeping in her room.

"That's okay." Buffy said as she looked up at her. "I was just bonding with your bats." she said sarcastically as one flew by her face and screeched.

"Before I left I checked the computer for references with gold and Sunnydale." she said as she sat down at the computer and started to type in it. "It said that there's an unusually large amount of gold being transferred through Sunnydale every month and later to other states abroad, from a private banking agency."

"But that still doesn't explain why the Joker was robbing that bank of it's money." Buffy pointed out.

"Unless it was a diversion." Batwoman figured out. "Maybe he had somebody else robbing the agency of it's gold, while he tried to lure out Batman or myself."

"It's worth checking out." Buffy said as she stood to her feet.

"Alright, let's go." Batwoman said as she walked over to her motorcycle.

"Do we really have to go through there again?" Buffy asked with a pout as she pointed at the waterfall.

Gotham

The sametime

Thunder rumbled across the jet-black sky, as the lighting crashed, casting Gotham City in stark relief. Sirens wailed and car alarms screamed as another crime was commited. This place was no longer the city of tomorrow. It was a city that was slowly dying. A city that had only one protector...

The Batman climbed up a black iron drain pipe in the rain, on the side of a very tall building. It was dirty, slippery dangerous work and as he looked down he saw Gotham City spread out, glittering and twinkling, far below.

As soon as he had got to Gotham, he had called Alfred. Alfred in turn told him that Bruce had returned a little worse for ware that night, but safe. Debating on whether to turn back home or not, Alfred then called him back and informed him that Bruce had left again hours later, and didn't come back, nor answer his communicator.

And that's what had the Batman of Sunnydale, scaling the side of this high building. He had tracked his father's communicator and it led him to the top of the building he was on. Hearing someone grunting from the top of the building, suddenly pushed him out of the fatigue he was feeling. Seeing that he was almost to the top, he took out his grappling hook gun and fired it. Seconds later he was on the top side of the building and what he saw almost made him want to turn around.

There was a hulking man, that looked like a wrestler, wearing a black and white mask, with muscles bigger then tree trunks and wires coming from his back to his head standing there holding up something black, ready to bring it down on his outstrecthed knee. As he looked at the man closer he recognized the man from the files of criminals that his father had sent him. He was looking at Bane. As he squinted his eyes more to see what he was holding over his head, he saw that it was Gotham's own, Batman.

With lightning speed, he took a batarang out of his utility belt and hurled it at him, before he could break his father's back. To his satisfaction, his weapon sank deeply into Bane's arm making him drop the Dark Knight, with a thump to the ground.

"Another Bat!" Bane growled out as he turned, his red eyed gaze over, and took the batarang out of his arm, sending it clattering to the ground. "Hopefully, you'll be a better challenge then him." he said as he ran full speed at the new threat.

Standing his ground, Batman X stood unflinching until the last possible second. Vaulting over him, Batman X threw out a kick, making Bane fall over, screaming off the side of the building. As he looked down, he saw the massive man, crash through a large truck an lay sprawled out on the street.

Hearing a grunt, snapped him back to reality as he saw Batman. He was broken, beaten, and he could tell that his right leg was useless, as he tried to haul himself up to his feet. Just the way he looked, Batman X could tell that his father should be dead. Dried blood caked his face and cowl, his chest and his costume was torn in places, exposing blood underneath.

He was dizzy, exhausted, his body strained to the limit. As he slumped against a wall to steady himself, he reached into his utility belt for a painkiller forcing the capsule back onto his dry, swollen tongue. Quaking all over, he tried to draw himself erect... and toppled over. A mere second from falling on his back, he felt a pair of strong hands catch him. Opening his eyes, he saw what he thought was his father looking down at him.

"No..." he muttered out as he touched the man's face.

"Dad." he heard his father say. But it wasn't his father's voice. It was...

"Xander." Batman asked.

"Dad what the hell happened to you?" Batman X asked, as he sat him up straighter.

"Xander...y...you shouldn't be here. The Joker..."

"Is being taken care of." he informed him. "I left Batwoman in..."

"No...no you don't understand." he said as his father coughed out some blood. "I uncovered a plot tonight. The Joker broke out every prisoner in Gotham as a distraction, so I couldn't help you. Someone in Sunnydale hired him to specifically kill you and now he...he has Poison Ivy, Two Face, and Mr. Freeze in Sunnydale. They are probably destroying it as we speak."

"Damnit." Batman X muttered as he helped his father to his feet.

"Even...even though I couldn't join you, I sent an old friend of mine to help you."

"Don't worry about that now, dad. Right now I need to get you..."

"Don't worry!" Batman asked angrily, causing him to spit out some more blood. "Damnit don't worry about me, especially when the Joker is out there.Get back to Sunnydale, I can get home myself. Go... NOW!"

"No."

"Xander..."

"I said NO!" X yelled back. "I lost my parents because, I couldn't do anything and I'll be damned if I lose you too."

Batman then looked at his son hard. He saw that his boy had finally grown up into the man that he had always dreamed him to be. Seeing that he couldn't realistically make it back home himself, he fell into his son's arms.

"This is the police!" they heard someone yell out as the wind picked up, sending torrents of rain water everywhere, as a spotlight shone on them. Looking up, both Batman saw a police helicopter hovering over them. "And we have you surrounded.

Reaching into his utility belt, Batman X hurled a batarang at the helicopter, knocking out the spotlight.

"Dad, hold on." he said over the noise of the helicopter.

Seeing that his father held on tightly to his neck, Batman X jumped over the side of the building and glided down safely through the open hatch of the Tumbler. Making sure that Batman was as comfortable as possible beside him, he kicked the Tumbler into life and drove off into the night.

Sunnydale

The Sametime

"So this is the place." Batwoman said as she and Buffy stepped off of her motorcycle and looked at the two story bank. Before the Slayer could answer a large explosion, destroyed the side of the building.

Looking over towards the damaged part of the building, the Bat and the Slayer saw Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, walking out of the middle of the fire. Not noticing the superheroes, the two started to load bricks of gold and sacks of money into a large ice truck, that looked to be modified into a sort of tank.

"Fuck." Batwoman said as she took a step back.

"These guys don't look so tough." Buffy commented, not understanding, Batwoman's apparent fear. "I'll take the red head, you take Mr. Goldfish bowl head." she said as she ran forward.

"Buffy no!" Batwoman tried to warn her. "Damnit." she said not having any choice but to jump into the fray.

"This has been the easiest robbery ever." Poison Ivy said as she used her control over a giant plant to throw another bag of money into the back of Mr. Freezes truck. "One thing puzzles me though." she said as she turned to her companion. "Why did you decide to join up with us?"

"Not that it's any of your concern." the emotionless man said to her. "But I'm trying an experiment to save..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Ivy was lifted off her feet by a viscious drop kick. Reaching over to help her, something whistled, causing him to reach up and snacth the batarang out of mid-air.

"A Bat woman." Mr. Freeze said as he threw the batarang to the ground and cocked his head to the side. "How interesting." he said as he advanced on her.

"You must be the Slayer, Joker was telling me about?" Ivy asked as she ducked under a rainbow kick from Buffy. "He never mentioned that you were such a snappy dresser. You have to tell me where you got that blouse?"

"Oh, I got this at...hey!" Buffy yelled in outrage. And that distraction cost her, as poison ivy vines came out of nowhere and grabbed her by the arms, legs, and her head, lifting her off of her feet. As she struggled uselessly against them, two batarangs were thrown, snapping them off of her arms. Looking up she saw that Batwoman had thrown them.

And looking behind her, she saw something else.

"Batwoman..." but it was already to late as Mr. Freeze blasted her with his freeze gun. Reducing Batwoman to nothing more then a sculpture of ice. "Noooo..."

"Yes." Mr. Freeze said as he pointed his gun at her. Suddenly out of the blue, a red and blue blur ran into Mr. Freeze knocking him over twenty feet in the air, where he crashed and fell unconcious on the top of his truck.

"What the hell..." Poison Ivy managed to get out as the same thing happened to her. With a scream, she was knocked to the side of his truck and hit her head, knocking her unconcious as well.

Buffy looked around confused and didn't know what the hell was going on. As the vines snapped off of her legs, she stood up and saw someone standing about ten feet in front of her. He was standing in a patch of darkness, with his back to her, but she saw his cape billowing softly in an unseen wind.

"Batman?" Buffy asked.

"No ma'am." the man said as he turned around, revealing a large S on the chest of his blue shirt. "My names, Superman."

A/N I wanted to say that I'm sorry for such a short chapter, but it couldn't be avoided. So what did you guys think of he surprise of Superman showing up? Also whenever both Batmen are together in the same scene Xander will be Batman X and Bruce will be either called Batman or the Dark Knight.

TBC...

Please Review...


	15. Chapter 14 World's Finest pt2

A/N I hated the way Arnold and Uma looked in the movies. So think of Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy as looking more like they did in Batman the animated series.

Thanks for all the great reviews. Too Anthony1 those chapters were new. And the Justice league and SuperGirl don't exist in this fic. I want to cross over with a few things, but I still want it to remain realistic. By adding to many people, the story becomes to comic book like.

Also a special shoutout to hattenjc, tdmasternl,Barshadatsky Roman, AnimeRonin, Mystiksnake, and Garg oyl for your reviews.

Chapter 14

World's Finest pt.2

"S...Superman?" Buffy asked in awe as she instintively took a step back. She had thought the man a myth, but looking at his well muscled body and his costume she knew better.

"Yeah, Batman sent me to...Ahhhh!" he yelled out as a powerful beam of ice popped him on the side, knocking him off his feet.

Looking up, Buffy saw that it was Mr. Freeze, who was shooting a steady volley of ice energy, from his position on top of the damaged truck. Spotting a batarang by her foot, she quickly scooped it up and flung it at him. As it curved in mid-air, it hit the tip of the gun instantly damaging the gun so it wouldn't fire anymore.

Chancing a glance over her shoulder, she saw that just like Batwoman, Superman too was now a sheet of ice. A sheet of ice that suddenly started to rumble. The ice started to crack and with a growl, Superman broke free from the ice, sending it flying eveywhere, and turned his gaze over to Mr. Freeze.

In a blur, he flew over to him, ripped the gun out of his hand and punched him hard in his protective helmet cracking it. As he was exposed to the heat of the Californian nightlife, he immediately started to gasp for air. Throwing him off the side of the truck, where he landed next to Ivy, Superman tore off a few metal bars from the truck and bent them around Ivy and Freeze. Using his heat vision on the side of the bars, he sealed them into makeshift shackles.

"Now like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Superman started as he walked up to Buffy. "Batman...the one from Gotham sent me here to assist you."

"Why?" Buffy asked still in awe of what she had just seen.

"Because, he uncovered...what happened to her?" he asked as he looked over Buffy's shoulder. Following his gaze, she saw the still frozen body of Batwoman.

"Mr. Freeze shot her with his ray gun." Buffy said as she looked back at him. "Do you think you can help her?"

"I'll see what I can do." he answered as he walked up to the statue. Activating his eyebeams, he lowered the temperature on the lasers until the ice slowly started to melt off. With a final blast, the last of the ice fell off of Batwoman and she pitched forward, shivering in the strong arms of the Kryptonian. "Come on, I'll take you two back to the batcave." he said as he scooped her up in a carrying position. Hearing police sirens in the distance, Buffy jumped on his back and held her arms strongly around his neck, piggy back style, as they flew away into the night.

Gotham Memorial Hospital

"He has multiple bruises, abrasions, three cracked ribs, a concussion, a broke wrist, and his legs were pulled out of their socket." Dr. Hanson said to Xander and Alfred. "My God, what was Mr. Wayne doing?" he asked.

"He was beaten up by some thugs, when he tried to go home." Xander answered calmly. "Can me and Alfred go see him?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would say no." the slightly balding doctor told him. "But in a normal situation, your father should be out like a light, from all of those injuries, but he's not. He's asking for you now, but only one of you at a time though."

"Thanks doc." Xander said as the man walked off.

"Go ahead and visit with him, Master Alexander. He is you father after all." Alfred told his charge as he layed his hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Al." Xander said as he patted the elder man's hand and walked to the elevator.

As Xander entered his father's room, he started feeling shaky, once he saw him lying on the bed asleep with various tubes and monitors attached to him. He had never seen Bruce look so fragile. So hurt. Xander was about to turn around and let Bruce rest peacefully, until the older man opened his eyes.

"Xander...?" Bruce asked. With a sad smile Xander walked fully into the room and sat down in a chair next to Bruce's bed.

"Hi, dad. How are you feeling?"

"Like...like I lost a fight to a very big man." Bruce answered with a wince as he tried to move.

"Here." Xander said as he helped him to get into a more comfortable position. "How's that?"

"Better." he answered back. "Now what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here?" he asked increduously. "How was I supposed to stay away, when the last time I spoke to you, you were screaming?"

"But what about, Sunnydale? The Joker..."

"Is being taken care of by Batwoman like I told you before."

"Xander, I let you be the Batman of Sunnydale. I never told you to recruit anybody." Bruce told him sternly. "I am proud of you though. Alfred has been keeping me informed of what you've been up too."

"Thanks." Xander said as he reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. "This is Diana and her little daughter Selina." he said as he took out a picture and handed it to him. Opening up his bruised eyes even further, he smiled once he fully saw the picture. For some reason his gaze lingered on the little girl. It was like he was supposed to have known her for some reason.

"They're a beautiful family." Bruce said as he handed him back the picture. "I'm assuming that the blonde...Diana is Batwoman? What happened to make you take those two in?"

"I'll tell you later." Xander replied sadly. He really couldn't stomach talking about the death of her husband right now, in light of what happened to Bruce. "Oh, wait here's another picture." he said as he reached into his wallet and handed it to him.

"So these are the friends that, Alfred has been telling me about?" Bruce asked with a smile as he looked at it harder. It was a picture of Xander, Willow, Jesse, and Buffy on a peaceful day in the park. "I'm happy that you were able to rebuild your past and get your friends back along with some new one's." he said as he handed him the picture.

"Believe me, I'm happy about it too." his son replied as he put his wallet back in his pocket.

"So you and that blonde...Buffy. Are you two dating yet?" Bruce asked teasingly. "She's a pretty girl."

"Dad..." Xander whined, his cheeks turning red.

"Seriously son." Bruce said losing his smile. "Don't spend your whole life in the darkness like me. Live. Get married and have children. You also have friends now...real friends. Cherish that, because it's a luxury to have real friends who care about you and not your money."

"I understand." Xander said getting serious himself. After it was revealed that Bruce was Batman, Alfred told him that he went all over the world learning and honing his fighting skills. He never had time to have a nice normal life. "But, hey you got two good kids out of the deal." Xander told him happily, causing Bruce to chuckle.

"Yeah, I did." he said thinking about his little girl. "Now go ahead and go back to Sunnydale..."

"But..."

"The guy I sent is probably getting himself into trouble, right about now." Bruce informed him.

"Who did you send anyway?"

"Superman."

"Superman!" Xander almost shouted. "How do you know him?"

"We met a couple of years ago when I went on a business trip to Metropolis. We had to join forces and I kicked his ass..."

"You kicked Superman's butt. Come on dad."

"Ask him yourself. Now go."

"But it's still gonna take me a whole day to get back there." Xander said as he stood to his feet. "I'm never gonna get back there in time to be of any help."

"You will. Go to my batcave and use the bat-jet. Just listen to Alfred's instruction's on how to use it and you should be in Sunnydale in just under two hours."

"Alright, I'll go." Xander said as he walked to the door. "But I'll be back to help..."

"Don't worry about that." Bruce said as he sat up a little straighter. "After Superman helps you out, tell him to come back here so he can patrol Gotham and Metropolis. Because honestly, it doesn't look like, I'm gonna be able to walk for awhile."

"Okay, I'll see you later dad." Xander said as he ran out of the door.

"Goodbye, son." Bruce said as he finally let sleep claim him. He couldn't believe how mature his son seemed now. 'Maybe going back to Sunnydale, wasn't a bad thing after all.'

Batcave

Two hours later

"Batwoman is doing just fine." Superman told Buffy as he sat down at the batcomputer and started typing. "She's taking a hot bath right now and then she's gonna order out some dinner for her and her little girl."

"Batwoman has a daughter?" Buffy asked as she sat down next to him.

'She doesn't know Batwoman's true identity.' Superman thought to himself. 'You really put your big foot in your mouth, this time Clark.' "That's not important right now. What's important is that there's one member of the Joker's army that's missing."

"Who?"

"Two Face." Superman told her. "I think that Two Face already hit the bank before the other one's got there. The only problem is finding him."

"He's at the Double Mint factory just outside of town." a voice said from the darkness. Turning they both saw Batman entering the cave.

"How did you get here?" Buffy asked, not seeing or hearing the Tumbler.

"Let's just say that I have new means of transportation." he informed her.

"How do you know he's at the factory?" Supes asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because, I've been reading up on some files from the Batman in Gotham, on Harvey Dent." he said as he walked fully into the room. "Believe me that factory, is the only place that can deal with his dual personality."

"Alright, so let's sattle up." Buffy said as she walked over to Batman's weapon display and picked out some batarangs.

"I'm afraid you're not coming, Miss Summers." Batman said as he looked over at her.

"Why not?" Buffy asked, almost angrily. "Is this some kind of guy thing..."

"No it's not like that. It's just the fact that your destiny lies in fighting demons and vampires, ours is fighting criminals." 'And I don't want to see you hurt.' he quietly thought to himself.

"He's right, Buffy." Superman said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine, I never get to have any fun."

"If that's not enough to convince you, Miss Summers it's almost mid-night and I doubt your mother wants you out this late." Batman told her.

"Oh my God, I'm so grounded."

"Just wait for me by the cave entrance and I'll take you home." he said. After watching her, walk off Batman went up to Superman. "I'll take the Joker and you take Two Face."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, kid." Superman said with a shake of his head. 'Rookies.'

"Why not?" Batman asked, taken aback. "And don't call me kid."

"Fine, Alex."

"Keep it down, before Buffy hears you." Batman said, slipping back into his Xander voice.

"Fine, Batman. The reason I want to go after the Joker is because I can cover more ground then you and I'm immune to most of his toxin's."

"Fine." Batman replied with a glare, as the two stood side by side. "Now let's move."

Sunnydale Street

"Woohooho..." The Joker yelled crazily as he drove his truck wildly.

"Mister J aren't you gonna spring the others?" Harley asked as she looked over at the crazed clown.

"Why the hell for?" he asked. "I already got what I wanted. We're getting the hell out of here." and as soon as those words left his mouth, something violently smashed into the truck. "What the..." he trailed off as he looked in his side view mirror and saw Superman flying behind him.

"It's Supes." Harley said nervously. "What are we gonna do now?" before he could answer, Superman used his eyebeams and hit the trucks front tire. Losing control, it flipped over five times, spilling gold out the back as it did so.

"Damn." Joker said weakly as he came out of his daze. Looking over at Harley, who was now unconcious, he undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the truck. Seeing Superman flying down to his position, he looked around for a place of refuge. Seeing one, he ran for the high school forgetting all about Harley.

Double Mint Cake Factory

Sametime

"Boss, why are we waiting here for the Joker?" one of Two Face's thugs asked. "What if the Bat shows up?"

"I'm actually counting on him to show up." Two Face said as he turned away from him. "You. Sport. Any thoughts? Counting on Batass to rescue you?" he asked a security guard, laying on the floor, wrists and feet bound, trembling with fear. "We sure are."

" ...You gonna kill me?" the guard asked nervously.

"Might. Might not." Face replied with a shrug. "Could say we're of two minds on the subject."

"I got family. ...Please." he begged.

"What say we flip for it?" Two-face asked as he shoved his silver dollar under the guard's nose, showing him the smooth side."What could be fairer than the random toss of an honest coin? Life..." The other side bore deep, disfiguring burns. "...or death."

"Please. I swear I won't say noth-"

"The coin wants to decide." Face said as he flipped the coin. The coin spun in the air, gleaming, and landed on the floor only inches from the guard's face. With a smile Two-Face stomped the coin and winked at the sweating guard. "Exhilarating, isn't it? The suspense? Sudden death or a new lease on life? Really makes a man live in the moment." he said as he removed his foot to reveal the unblemished side up.

"You're in luck. You get to live and whimper another day." he said causing the guard to sob with relief and for Harvey's thugs to grumble. Two-Face then folded his jacket into a pillow, placed it under the guard's head, now the nicest crook in the world. "That floor has got to be very hard. Is that better?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Mr..uh...Face." the guard said nervously.

"Just call us Harvey. Can we get you a sandwich? A soft drink? Given all the trouble we caused you, how about we cut you in for a share of tonight's haul?"

"Face! For cryin' out loud!" another one of his thugs bellowed. "You're not gonna pay him.." he stopped as Two-Face turned on him with a vengeance, shooting out a hand that pinned him by the throat to the wall.

"Did we ask your opinion? The coin has rendered its verdict. This man has a family to take care of. You have a problem with that?" Face asked.

"Oh no, Face. Anything you say." the thug said changing his tune.

Suddenly there was a ding from the elevators.

"Showtime." Face muttered to himself, as he and his thugs all whirled around, machine guns coming up, opening fire, armor piercing bullets punching holes in the metal doors, shredding anyone inside. As there guns clicked empty they stopped to re-load.

They all stood watching as the now perforated elevator doors slid, jerking, open to reveal...an empty elevator. Then suddenly the skylight overhead exploded and, in a rain of glass, Batman dropped to a high catwalk. Seeing Two-Face and his cronies, he jumped over the edge.

A thug fired at the figure hurling towards him, but Batman landed on his chest, smashing him to the floor. Suddenly, bullets cracked beside the caped crusader's head. Evading the blasts, he did a somersault and hid behind an opposing wall. Waiting until there was a break, upon firing, he threw a batarang hitting his assailant in the hand and making him drop his weapon.

With a quick elbow and and a leg sweep, he sent him to the floor. Seeing two more thugs running up to him, he side-stepped the first one, sent out a knee to the groin of the one in front of him and whipped around to palm strike the man behind him in the face. Making quick work of them, he was about to turn around, when he suddenly heard a click behind his head.

"Time to die, Bat's." Two-Face said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Why not flip for it first?" Batman asked as he turned all the way around.

"What?" Face asked as he stepped back some.

"I said why don't you flip for it?" he asked again. "Killing somebody is a big decision. Do you really think that you should decide something like that without flipping first?"

"Say no more." he said as he took his coin out to flip it. Taking his eyes off of Batman, he totally missed the punch that came his way.

"Superman." Batman said into his communicator after tying up Two-Face and the other thugs. "I caught Two- Face and..." he stopped talking once he heard Superman's screams. With wide eyes, Batman took out his grappling hook gun, fired it to the broken skylight, and dissappeared into the night.

Sunnydale High

Minutes Before

With a growl, Superman watched as the Joker left Harley Quinn for dead and dissappeared into the highschool. Making sure she was alright, he quickly flew into the school and using his x-ray vision, saw that the Joker was hiding in the library.

"Come out Joker, I know you're in here." Superman said as he strolled into the library. And that proved to be a big mistake. As he stepped into the center of the room, the ancient seal of Danthazar suddenly flared, causing the spot under his feet to glow red.

Looking down he saw a red glowing pentagram forming and as he tried to get out of it, he found that he was stuck to the floor. Pumping more power into trying to move, violent winds of crimson started to twirl around the pentagram. The power was slowly starting to burn him.

"It looks like you're in a pickle." Joker said as he walked from behind a bookshelf and watched as Superman fell to his knees in pain.

"Wha...what are you doing to me?" Superman asked as he felt his power being drained, only to be replaced by something evil. It seemed that every good thought he would have, would twist itself into something dark.

"Me...why nothing." Joker said as he reached out and tried to touch the barrier, only for it to burn his hand. "Damn." he said as he shook the fire off his gloved hand. "Now that's hot." he said as Superman again howled in pain.

"Well, I see you're busy." Joker said with a smile as he turned to leave. "Be seeing you Supes." he said with an evil cackle as he ran out of the building. Waking up Harley, he hot wired a school bus and loaded it with all of the cash and some of the bricks of gold from his truck and fled the scene.

Red streams of lightning then crackled between Superman and the pentagram, causing his eyes to turn black, black veins to appear on his face, and for lightning to start sizzling around him. The ground suddenly began to shake and the wind started getting even stronger. With another cry of pain, bolts of green magic shot from Superman's body toward the pentagram.

"Superman!" a voice yelled, making him look up from his aparrent anguish. Lifting his hand up, he fell over as he tried to reach up for Batman's help.

Not knowing what else to do, Batman reached into his utility belt and threw a batarang at a spot behind Superman and as it exploded it knocked him out and away from the glowing death trap. Watching as his new ally, slowly returned back to normal, Batman helped Superman stand to his feet.

"What the hell happened?" Batman asked as he helped Superman lean against a table, that wasn't overturned from the blast.

"I...I don't know." Superman replied weakly, as he looked over to the spot where he was moments earlier. "It was the wierdest sensation, I've ever felt."

"Well let's get out of here then." Batman replied as he looked from Superman, to the still smoking hole in the floor.

In The Hellmouth

Sametime

"No, I was so close." a demon hissed as it hit the side of it's chair, breaking away the arm rest. It had waited centuries upon centuries to find an avatar. Someone it could control, so it's physical presense could be felt on earth. "Again, I am made to wait." the First evil said, calming down, as it sat back in it's chair. "But soon the human world will be mine."

Batcave

Later that night

"I'm sorry, I couldn't catch the Joker." Clark Kent said as Xander stepped out of the costume room.

"Hey, we got Two- Face and all the other one's didn't we." Xander asked as he sat down heavily on his chair. He was so exhausted. "That's gotta count for something."

"We do make a pretty good team don't we." Clark asked as the two finally shook hands.

"Yeah, we do." he replied as he stood to his feet. "Now do you want to join us for dinner? Knowing Diana, she probably ordered out something."

"I am a bit hungry." the man of steel, replied as the two started to walk up the stairs of the batcave.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Xander said as he leaned his arm on Clark's shoulder. "Did my dad really kick your ass?"

"In his dreams." Clark replied as he made a little pfft noise.

Gotham City

A slight, but curvy raven haired woman, wearing all leather quickly sashayed out of a jewelry store. Seeing a man looking at her, the dominatrix gave him a chilling smile...even as the store behind her blew up in a glowing roar of fire, knocking the man off of his feet.

"God, I love my job." Catwoman said as she took off with her bag of loot into the night.

A/N I'm also skipping the next few chapters and going right to the episode Prophesy Girl. Don't worry, I'm not ending the fic there, because I have a few more surprises left. There was also supposed to be another scene with Batman and Buffy in this, but I didn't feel that it was all that neccessary.

TBC...

Please Review...


	16. Chapter 15 Prophesy Girl

A/N Don't worry, I'm not ending the fic here, because I have a few more surprises left. Also for the episodes Nightmares and Out of Sight, Out of Mind here's the important things of what happened. Xander's nightmare of what happened in his past was to relive the night of his parents murders and for him to fight a manifested dream version of Spike. Other than that it was the regular episode.

As for Out of Sight, Out of Mind the same old episode basically happened, except at the end Xander, not Batman was able to get through to Marcie and he talked to his dad so she could go to New York and learn from others there so she could control her invisible powers.

And thanks for all the great reviews. Anthony1, as always thanks for your review. As for Superman and The First, they were basically one shots for the story. I know that Superman is vulnerable to magic, so I thought it would be funny for the First to want him to do it's bidding. Also a special shoutout to hattenjc, tdmasternl, X-over, AnimeRonin, Mystiksnake (esecially for your comment and believe me this chapter will blow your socks off), and Garg oyl for your reviews. Also I'm not sure about anybody else wearing the cape and the cowl in the gang. Maybe I'll do it for the special halloween episode, I have planned.

Chapter 15

Prophesy Girl

Library

Giles sat alone at a table researching several books and in several languages. He couldn't believe what he had just read, but making sure he got up and went into his office to make some tea. Sitting down at his desk with his cup of tea and poured over the text of the Codex, once more.

"The Master shall rise...' Yes, yes, this is it! The Master shall rise, and the Slayer...' " he stopped as he looked up in disbelief. "My God!"

He then considered what he's just read for a moment and then reached for his tea. The cup suddenly began to jiggle, making him look at it curiously. A few seconds later the whole building began to shake, and he realized he's experiencing his first earthquake. Panicking he got up and looked around at everything shaking, even as his teacup vibrated off of the desk and smashed to pieces on the floor.

Master's Lair

Sametime

"Yes! YES! Shake, Earth! This is a sign! We are in the final days! My time has come! Glory! GLORY!" The Master bellowed happily as the quake ended as quickly as it started. "Whadaya think? 5.1?" he asked as he looked over at the Mayor, who just shrugged.

"Hey, I brought you a non fat latte." Wilkins said as he handed him the cup.

"Does it have any blood in it?" The Master asked as he eyed the latte warrily.

"Just a little."

"I need you to call off the hit on, Batman." the Master said as he sat down on his throne.

"Why?" Mayor Wilkins asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because my ascension is at hand and I don't want that damn clown, in the way."

"But wouldn't it be a better idea to keep him around?" the Mayor asked. "He could come in handy." he added, only for the Master to give him a look. "Alright, alright I'll call off the hit."

"Good." the Master replied as he watched the Mayor walk towards the exit.

"But keep in mind, that my own ascension will take place very soon." the Mayor said as he turned around to face him. "Just think about that, my old friend." he said with a slight smile as he walked out of the room.

"I've forgotten nothing, Wilkins." the Master muttered to himself. "Soon, after I walk the earth I will...Mmmm this is good." he said as he took a sip of his blood latte.

Sunnydale High

The Next Day

"All, I'm saying is that I really like her." Xander was saying to Jesse as they walked down a hallway.

"What are you telling me for?" Jesse asked surprised. "You should be telling this to, Buffy."

"I know but I promised..."

"Xander forget about what you promised me." Jesse said, cutting him off. "I'm dating, Willow remember. Now find Buffy and ask her out to...to the Spring Fling. Yeah, that'll be perfect."

"Alright, as soon as I see, Buffy I'll ask her out." hearing heels clicking, they both turned to see Buffy walking up behind them. Seing that Xander asn't going to move, Jesse pushed him in Buffy's direction and walked off to find Willow.

"Ummm...hey Buff." Xander greeted nervously.

"Oh, hi Xander." Buffy greeted back, coming out of her daze.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just, Giles." Buffy said shaking her head, as if to clear it. "He's acting way wierd."

"Well, he's always acting wierd." Xander commented. "Now listen, Buffy I want to ask you..."

"Could you tell me later." she interrupted. "We're so late for Biology."

"Later then." he agreed as they walked to there next period class.

The Joker's Lair

"I can't believe him." the Joker yelled as he angrily hung up his phone. "Everybody's always trying to spoil my fun." he said thinking about his conversation with Mayor Wilkins.

"But I know one thing though. I'm not gonna leave, until I've killed somebody."

Sunnydale Quad

An Hour Later

Buffy, Xander, Jesse and Willow walked out of the doors onto the balcony and headed down the stairs.

"Wow." Buffy exclaimed, letting out a breath. "That was boring."

"I don't feel that boring covers it." Xander replied, thinking how much different school was in Gotham.

"No, boring falls short." she agreed.

"Even I was bored." Willow spoke up. "And I'm a science nerd."

"Don't say that." Buffy said giving her a look.

"I'm not ashamed. It's the computer age. Nerds are in. They're still in, right?" she asked looking around.

"Willow, don't you remember. We have a thing?" Jesse said, thinking now was just a good a time as any for Xander to put the moves on Buffy.

"A thing?" Willow asked, before she remembered. "The thing! That I have! Which is... a thing that me and Jesse have to go to." she said as they reach the bottom of the stairs. "See ya guys." she said as her and Jesse walked off.

"What on earth is their deal?" Buffy asked as she looked over at Xander.

"Uh, I don't know." Xander said as he laughed nervously. "So, uh, Buffy, I wanted to, um... There was this thing I wanted to ask you, to talk to you about."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Uh, let's go over here and sit." He replied as he led her over to a bench.

"Okay, now you're making me nervous. " Buffy said as she sat down.

'You're nervous?' Xander thought to himself. 'What do you think you're doing to me?'

"Well?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"Um..." was all Xander was able to get out as he let out a breath. "Screw it! Buffy I like you. I've had a thing for you every since we met and I think you're beautiful. And tomorrow is Spring Fling and I want you to go to the dance with me. You and me, on a date." he said causing Buffy to look down sadly.

"Xander, I think we should talk."

"So is that a no then?" he asked as he nervously sat down next to her. 'God, why do I feel like I've just made an ass of myself?'

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Xander because I do have strong feelings for you." she started.

"Well that's a good thing." he said as he reached for her hand, only for her to pull away.

"It's not." Buffy informed him. "You're everything that I want in a boyfriend. You're handsome, funny, and smart."

"But?"

"But, I can tell that you're hiding something from me." Buffy said meeting his gaze. "I've been feeling this way, every since we've met and honestly...it scares me."

"Buffy, I would never do anything to hurt you." Xander assured.

"I can't know that." Buffy quickly told him. "Not until you can tell me why, I feel this way."

"I...I don't know." Xander said lowering his head.

"Then goodbye, Xander." Buffy said as she kissed him on the cheek and walked off.

"It's because, I'm Batman." Xander muttered to himself, as he watched Buffy's retreating form.

Wayne Manor

After School

"So how did it go with, Buffy?" Diana asked as Xander walked through the door. As he looked down to the floor sadly, she recieved her answer. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Xander said as he sat down next to her. "Hey where's, Selina?" he asked, missing his daily hugs from her.

"After I gathered the information, you wanted me to get about the Master, I sent her to stay with Joyce for awhile."

"Is it that bad?" Xander asked.

"Well, I have been surfing the 'Net, looking for unexplained incidents, surrounding the Master." Diana said as she started to type at her computer. "Now, here is the latest. A cat last week gave birth to a litter of snakes. A family was swimming in Whisper Lake when the lake suddenly began to boil. And Mercy Hospital last night, a boy was born with his eyes facing inward. I'm not stupid. This is apocalypse stuff. And throw in last night's earthquake, and I'd say we've got a problem. I would say the end is pretty seriously near."

"Then, I better get this information over to, Giles." Xander said as he grabbed her notes and a computer print out. "I'm gonna see if he knows anything about any of this."

The Girl's Locker Room

Buffy shut her gym locker hard, as she thought about her conversation with Xander. She really liked him, but something in her soul told her that he was dangerous. As two girls walked by chatting, she snapped out of her musings and headed to the sink to wash her hands. As she looked into the mirror to see her reflection, she saw Cordelia standing behind her.

"Cordelia, you scared me." Buffy said, startled as she turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"You really are stupid, Summers." Cordelia said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let me answer that by saying Wha..."

"You're messing up a good thing." Cordelia cut her off. "Xander's comes from one of the riches families in the world. And..."

"Is that what this is about?" Buffy asked. "Since when does my business and your business mesh?"

"Listen." Cordelia said getting serious. "Xander's a nice guy, even though he can be a jerk at times, and you somehow make him happy."

"Well, I appreciate your concern but what me and Xander do or don't do is none of your business."

"Suit yourself." Cordelia said in a huff. "Live your life in misery."

After Cordelia left the room, Buffy looked in the mirror another moment then looked down and saw that blood was pouring from the faucet.

The Library

"Giles, you are not gonna believe this." Buffy spoke out as she walked into the room. She then stopped in her tracks when she heard Giles talking to someone. Curious, she walked around some tables and looked into his office.

"It's clear. It's what's gonna happen. Uh, it's happening now!" Giles said as Batman moved into the light to read the Codex.

"Batman?" Buffy muttered as she headed toward the office, to hear what they were saying.

"It can't be. You've gotta be wrong." Batman said to Giles as he read over the Codex himself.

"I've checked it against all my other volumes. It's very real." Giles replied as Buffy stopped at the door.

"Well, there's gotta be some way around it."

"Listen. Some prophecies are, are a bit dodgy. They're, they're mutable. Buffy herself has, has thwarted them time and time again, but this is the Codex. There is nothing in it that does not come to pass." Giles informed the Dark Knight.

"Then you're reading it wrong."

"I wish to God I were! But it's very plain! Tomorrow night Buffy will face the Master, and she will die."

"Well, have you verified the text?" Batman asked as he and Giles heard somebody laugh. Turning he saw that it was Buffy. Confused as to why she's laughing Giles and Batman exchanged a look. She then slowly started to walk away from the office door, as Batman and Giles came out of the office after her. Angrily she stopped by the table and faced them.

"So that's it, huh?" she asked with a shake of her head. "I remember the drill. One Slayer dies, next one's called! Wonder who she is. Will you train her?" she asked Giles. "Or will they send someone else?"

"Buffy, I..."

"They say how he's gonna kill me?" she asked interrupting her Watcher. "Do you think it'll hurt?" she asked as tears started flowing freely from her eyes. Batman tried to comfort her, but she put up her hands and quickly stepped away. "Don't touch me! Were you even gonna tell me?"

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to." Giles spluttered. "That there was... some way around it. I..."

"I've got a way around it. I quit!"

"It's not that simple, Miss Summers." Batman told her sadly. "You have a destiny to fulfill."

"Damn destiny!" Buffy yelled at him. "And I'm making it that simple! I quit! I resign, I-I'm fired, you can find someone else to stop the Master from taking over!"

"I'm not sure that anyone else can." Giles interrupted. "All the... the signs indicate..."

"The signs?" she asked as she threw a book at him. "READ ME THE SIGNS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, as she chunked another book at him. "TELL ME MY FORTUNE! YOU'RE SO USEFUL SITTING HERE WITH ALL YOUR BOOKS! YOU'RE REALLY A LOTTA HELP!"

"No, I don't suppose I am." he replied sadly. It was breaking his heart, just as much as it was Buffy's.

"I know this is hard."

"What do you know about this?" Buffy asked the Dark Knight. "You're not gonna die this young!"

"You think I want anything to happen to you?" Batman asked heatedly. "Do you think I could stand it? We just gotta figure out a way..."

"I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!"

"Buffy, if the Master rises..."

"I don't care!" she replied as she yanked the cross, Angel gave her, from her neck. "I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die."

"And you want." Batman said as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Do you hear me? Nothing is gonna happen to you. Me Giles and the others will make sure of that, do you understand me?" he asked as he shook her a bit. Not being able to control her emotions any longer, Buffy broke down and fell into Batman's arms in a fit of tears.

"Mr. Giles, get your people together." Batman said over his shoulder. "We're gonna launch an assault on the Master, tomorrow night."

Wayne Manor

Early Morning

Xander sat down at his living room table, drinking a cup of coffee, as he reviewed over the underground map of Sunnydale. It didn't occur to him at the time, when he told Giles to gather the others, that he didn't know where the Master's cave was. Leaning back in his seat, somebody suddenly put their little hands over his eyes.

"Guess who." the voice said causing Xander to smile.

"Hey babe." he greeted as Selina dropped her hands. "What are you doing here? I thought you were over at Dawn's house."

"I was." Selina said as she sat on his lap. "I just had to pick up some extra clothes. So what are you doing?" she asked as she looked down at the map.

"I'm studying something for...for school." he smoothly lied. "I have to find a spot where someone is gonna be hiding."

"Ohhh, can I help?" she asked excitedly.

"Knock, yourself out kid." Xander said with a smile. 'Theres no way she's gonna...'

"I found it." Selina said, interrupting his thoughts, as she pointed to a wide spot in the middle of the map.

"What the..." Xander said as he snacthed up the map and looked at it. Looking at an even older map of Sunnydale, he saw that the spot Selina pointed to was the same spot the church was in that the Master occupied almost sixty years ago. "How did you..." and then he thought about one of the messages Diana told him about, that was on the net. 'And a child shall lead the way.'

"So what did, I win?" Selina asked as she looked up at him.

"One of these." Xander replied as he gave her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Uncle Xander." she whined as she wiped away at her cheek.

"Selina, Joyce is waiting for you." Diana called from the other room.

"Coming mom!" she yelled back as she jumped off of Xander's lap. "Bye, Uncle Xander." she said as she ran out of the room. Watching his niece go, Xander smiled to himself.

"Alright you bastard, now I know where you really are." he said as he looked at the map. "Prepare for the end."

Later that night

Sunnydale High

"Mister Giles informed me that, Alexander Wayne paid for you all to get karate lessons." Batman stated as the gang loaded up on stakes, from the weapons cage.

"Yeah." Jesse replied as he stopped eye molesting, the beautiful Batwoman. "Speaking of Xander, where is he anyway?"

"That's not important right now." Batman said quickly. "What's important is that you all are ready."

"Yeah, I think we are." Buffy said as she entered the room, wearing a beautiful white dress.

"Buffy." Giles said stunned to see her.

"You're a little overdressed aren't you, Miss Summers?" Batman asked dryly.

"After we get rid of the Master, I was thinking of asking a boy out on a date." Buffy replied as she walked past them and into the weapons cage to pick out a crossbow. Her mom had told her that happiness for some people only came around rarely and that she should take advantage of anything that would make her happy. "Now let's do this."

"Alright." Batman said taking point, with Batwoman and Buffy on either side of him as they walked out of the library doors. "Once we hit the caves, Batwoman I want you to be in charge of keeping any vamps out of the main chamber. Everybody else is gonna serve as her backup, while me and Miss Summers take care of the Master."

"Buffy." Buffy corrected him.

"What was that?"

"I want you to call me Buffy." she informed him. "If this is gonna be our last night on earth, then I want you to call me by my first name."

"Alright Buff..." he trailed off however, as the pale skinned Cordelia ran into him.

"Good lord, Cordelia what's the matter?" Giles asked.

"Th...th...that." she said as she pointed over her shoulder. Looking up out into the field, they saw a hoarde of vampires coming into their direction. Hearing a growling sound, they looked to their left and saw about twenty more coming out of the shadows. They were slowly being surrounded.

"Alright new plan." Batman said as he took a step back.

"Is this the part where we run?" Willow asked.

"No, Miss Rosenberg." Batman said as he fired his grappling hook gun to the air, where it latched onto the wing of the hovering Batjet. "This is the part where you fight. Batwoman you're in charge while me and Miss...Buffy take care of the Master."

"Got it." she said as she watched the two of them dissappear into the Batjet and fly off.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Cordelia suddenly asked.

"If you're not going to fight..." Giles started as he handed her a stake and some holy water. "then pray." he said as he slashed his axe out, decapitating the first vampire.

The Master's Cave

Minute's Later

"Welcome. I've been waiting for you." the Master said as Buffy walked into the room. Looking at the thousands of candles burning and the dark decor' of the room, she smiled to herself.

"Thanks for having me." Buffy said as she nervously looked around, even as the Master stepped out into the light behind her, to get a better look. "You know you really oughtta talk to a contracter. Looks like you got some water damage."

"Ahh, the feeble banter portion of the fight. Why don't we just cut to the..."

Suddenly Buffy spun around and launched a bolt in the direction of his voice. With his lightning reflexes the Master caught it in mid-flight right in front of him at chest level.

"Nice shot." he said as Buffy quickly reloaded the bow. "To bad I'm still gonna kill you."

"I don't think so." a voice said, echoing throughout the cave. Spinning around, the Master saw that it was Batman sitting perched on top of a boulder. "You see in this fairy tale, you die." he said as he whipped out a batarang and threw it at him.

Outside Sunnydale High

"Hey get the hell off of my girlfriend." Jesse yelled out as he pushed a vampire off of Willow.

"Who knew the dweeb had courage." he heard Cordelia yell out, from her position of hiding behind Giles.

"There's too many of them." Batwoman commented as she spin-kicked a vamp to the ground, while at the same time staking another.

"I admit that we're a bit overwhelmed." Giles replied, slightly out of breath. "But we must keep at it." and as soon as those words left his mouth, a tall vampire sprung up in front of him and picked him up off of his feet by the throat. "A...a li...little help please." Giles wheezed out.

Hearing his cry, someone came out of the shadows and staked the vampire, making him release Giles and for it to turn into dust.

"Thank...thank you." Giles said as he accepted the hand that helped him to his feet. Looking up at his savior, his eyes widened at who he saw. "Good Lord, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh my, God." Cordelia said as she saw the other man limp out of the shadows.

The Master's Lair

The Master yelled in outrage as he twisted the batarang out of his stomach. Letting it fall with a clank to the ground, he turned and ripped Buffy's crossbow out of her hands. Jumping down from his position, Batman launched into a rainbow kick, which the Master smoothly slid under.

Seeing two vampires pour into the room, Batman quickly did a leg sweep on the Master, sending him sprawling to the floor. With a sigh he moved on to the new threat.

As he got back up on his feet, Buffy did a swinging roundhouse kick that connected squarely with his face. He swiped at her and she jerked back, but still managed to slice her with his fingernails across her upper right chest, drawing blood.

"You ruined my new dress!" Buffy yelled angrily as she punched him in the kidney at the same time as he punched her in the jaw. She tried to punch him again, but he blocked her and punched her in the face, sending her flying backward into the wall behind her.

As she stood to her feet to attack him again, he suddenly held his hand out making her freeze, caught by his hypnotic powers. She looked up at him surprised and found that she couldn't move, even as he approached her, making slow twisting motions with his hand.

"Come here."

"No." she replied even though she obediently walked over to him. Before he could reach out and grab her, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Glancing over his shoulder, Buffy saw that Batman had threw a batarang.

Since the Master was still in pain, it snapped her fully out of his mind control. Shaking her head clear, she kicked him in the side with a side snap kick and pulled out her stake.

"You were destined to die!" the Master yelled once he saw the stake. "It was written!"

"What can I say?" Buffy said as she stabbed him deeply in the chest with her stake. "I flunked written."

With a final growl, black ash billowed out of the Master's mouth and he slowly dusted until only his skeleton remained.

"It's finally over." Buffy said as she let out a deep breath.

"As I told you, Miss Summers." Batman said as he snuck up behind her. "You would be safe. But there's still one thing you must do." he said as he handed her a sledge hammer, he had found on the floor.

"What is this for and I thought I told you to call me, Buffy?" she asked.

"Firstly, the sledge hammer is to make sure the Master can never be ressurrected." Batman informed her. "Secondly, I think that we should keep our relationship strictly professional."

"Oh...okay." she replied slightly dissappointed. As she went to work on the Master's bones he took out his communicator.

"Batwoman, we finished the Master. How are things on your end?"

"We finished off most of the vampires and the other one's ran off." came her reply. "The strangest thing happened though. When we went back to the library over half of it was destroyed almost as if something unearthed itself underneath it."

"But everybody's alright?"

"Yeah, we're all fine and you?"

"Tell Mr. Giles that he was wrong." Batman said as Buffy walked up to him. "Miss Summers is still alive."

"That's good to know. I'll meet you back at the cave." she said as she severed the communications.

"So do you think the dance is over?" Buffy asked.

"I'll drop you off at home." Batman said as he put his communicator back in his utility belt. "Because, I have one more piece of business left tonight."

The Mayor's Mansion

Mayor Wilkins, sat at his desk signing some official documents with a smile on his face. He didn't need anyone to tell him that the Master was dead, because he could already feel it. It was like a great power, ceased to exist.

Feeling a sudden cold draft in the room, he looked up and saw Batman walking through his huge terrace window.

"Don't you knock?" Wilkins asked as he went back to writing his documents. "Well I guess I shouldn't be so rude to you. I mean I'm assuming that you had something to do with getting rid of the Master?"

"That would be a correct assumption." Batman said as he stood back in the darkness, as a beautiful black cat purred and affectionately rubbed his head on the Dark Knights leg. "Pretty big place for somebody to live alone in."

"After my last wife died, some years ago, I found it best to live alone. I see fluffy likes you." Wilkins noticed.

"I have no interest in demon kittens."

"Fluffy's no demon." Wilkins said with a raised eyebrow. "What on earth would make you say that?"

"Because his owner is one."

"So how did the great detective figure it out?" he asked as he sat back in his seat.

"Moloch."

"The Corrupter?" the Mayor asked. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He infected my computer about a month ago. The way my computer is set up however, it saves anything that it values as important information. I was about to toss most of it, until I came upon this." he said as he tossed an 8 by 10 photograph on his desk. As Wilkins picked it up, he saw that it was a picture of himself almost a hundred years ago.

"You're pretty spry for someone that's over a hundred and fifty years old." Batman pointed out only for Wilkins to chuckle.

"Actually, I'm a little older than that. If you had of did some proper homework, you would've known that some demons in human form can live a very long time."

"So you're already a demon?" Batman asked. Wilkins didn't seem to know that he was signing his own death certificate. He had already found out that he was the one behind the Joker coming to Sunnydale, but this...

"Darn tooten." he said happily. "Oh don't get me wrong, I was human. But after the day this photograph was taken, I did a demonic ritual on a few people and turned myself into a demon."

'So he could wait for his ascension.' Batman thought to himself. "I'll see myself out." Batman said as he dropped a ball like object on the floor and jumped out of the window of the three story house.

Hearing a metallic noise, Wilkins stood to his feet and picked up what Batman had dropped. Once he registered what it was his eyes widened.

"Golly." was his last word as the house exploded in a ball of fire.

Wayne Manor

Later that night

"Hey there's my girl." Xander said as he walked into the living room and saw his niece on the floor coloring. Joyce was called on an emergency to LA, so Diana decided to keep her for the weekend. "Look what I brought you."

"A kitty." she said happily as she took it from him.

"Yeah and you can keep it just as long as you promise to feed and take care of it."

"I promise." Selina said as her kitten purred and licked at her face.

"There you two are." Diana said as she walked into the room. "Xander do you remember, when I said somebody special was here that helped us out with...our problem?"

"Yeah. Now who...Dad?" Xander asked as he saw Alfred and his father walking into the room. He also noticed that Bruce was walking more slowly, because of the injury to his legs he had sustained a month ago in Gotham.

"Uncle Alfred, Grandpa!" Selina shouted as she ran into Bruce's arms.

"Grandpa?" Bruce mouthed to Xander, only for his son to chuckle. 'But Alfred is older then me.' he thought to himself with a pout.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Selina." Alfred said as he gave her a hug.

"What are you guys doing here?" Xander asked.

"Is it a crime to want to visit my son for a few days?" Bruce asked as he slowly walked over to a chair and sat down.

"No it's just not like you though." Xander commented.

"I was bored in Gotham." he confessed. "I can't return too...my night job for another three weeks. Atleast until my legs heal."

"Well let's..." suddenly the doorbell rang, interrupting what Xander was gonna say. "Who could that be, this late?" Xander asked as he looked at his watch.

"That." Bruce started as he sat back in his chair and smiled smugly. "Is your punishment."

"Well don't just stand there, Alexander." Alfred said as he sat down at the table. "Answer the door." with a gulp Xander walked out of the room.

"Grandpa, look what Uncle Xander brought me." Selina said as she showed him her new kitten.

"It's beautiful, honey." Bruce said as he pat the kitten on the head, making it purr softly. "What are you gonna call it?"

"Miss Kitty." she said after a moment of thinking.

Nervously, Xander opened his front door and his jaw dropped once he saw the beautiful raven haired girl, wearing tight black jeans on the other side.

"Faith, what the hell are you doing here?" Xander asked his little sister in surprise.

"Damn, bro." she replied as she threw her suitcase in his arms. "Ain't you happy to see me?"

Buffy's Home

Five Minutes Later

"I'll get the door, Dawn." someone heard Buffy say on the other side of the door. As she opened it, she let out a startled gasp, as the Joker lifted up his pistol.

"I just couldn't leave, Sunnydale without giving you your party favor." Joker said as he fired off a shot. Laughing hysterically, he walked off even as Buffy's body dropped bonelessly to the dirty ground.

Somewhere in Jamaica

A figure punched tirelessly at a punching bag, to build up her stamina. Little did she know but her wish to be a Slayer was finally about to come true. As an invisible wave of energy hit her, her stomach flip flopped as she keeled over on the floor.

"My word, Kendra are you alright?" her Watcher asked as he helped her stand to her feet.

"Yes sir, Mr. Wyndam-Price." Kendra replied as she looked down at her hands. "I feel just fine."

A/N Next will be a Faith interlude, so you know how she became Faith Wayne. Also to answer a question I'm sure alot of people are gonna have. I didn't want Xander and Buffy together because of the Wayne curse with women. They might end up together later in the fic but not yet. So sorry to any Buffy and Xander shippers.

I'll also explain why Kendra's Watcher is Wesley later in the fic. I also thought it was funny to have a play on the words of the prophesy of the Codex. It said that the Master would kill her, but it never said which Master. So instead of it being a Master vampire that killed her, it was a master criminal.

TBC...

Please Review...


	17. Chapter 16 Faith Wayne

A/N This chapter deals with a real life situation and contains a small scene, that deals with such. Having said that it should be read by mature audience's only. Also thanks for all the great reviews.

To Terry Morrison Thanks for that honest review and I didn't want Batman to seem to dark because I am mixing it over with another show all together. I want other characters to shine in the spotlight to, not just him. If it were a stand alone Batman fic then he would have been more darker. But you can see that in a few chapters, I wanted to make him a little darker but I held back because of that. As for the hush storyline, I haven't read any comics in over seven to ten years, so I had nothing to really base Batman on except the movies, what I remembered from the comics, and the cartoons ( you know the watered down stuff.)

As for using the Batman Begins stories, when people found out I was doing this fic some of them challenged me to do some scenes from the movie. Well needless to say I excepted it. And finally about the characters being the same as on the show. I've talked to alot of other authours and readers and they all told me the same thing. If you change a character to much, then it's only that character by name only. And that's coming from most of the people who read my fics so I'm basically writing for them. And what they say does make sense. Thanks for the review anyway.

To Anthony1 Kendra, and Wesley will be in the story soon. And I have a special way of bringing Buffy back. To Dilvish I'm not sure how long I want Buffy to be out of commission and I'm still debating on how long Kendra and Wesley will be in this fic. Either way I have special plans for Kendra. As far as Faith goes, just wait and see what I do with her. I'm sure you're gonna like it. Thanks to everyone else that reviewed.

Chapter 16

Faith Wayne

Boston Mass.

Night

1989

Bruce let out a heavy sigh as he walked out of his meeting with the Jones Pharmaceutical company. He would have much rather had spent time with his son, instead of coming to another boring meeting. Then that thought came to him again and he smiled to himself.

'I have a son.'

He was surprised, happy, and a little saddened however that no one in his family came to claim him, once they found out that his parents were murdered. But it did make it all the more easier for Bruce to adopt Alex or Xander as he liked to call himself.

The first few weeks were the hardest though. Just like Bruce did when he was young, Xander would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. He was screaming because of the nightmares he was having. The same nightmares that threatened to take Bruce's mind as he got older.

And that's why he or Alfred would keep Xander occupied. Take him out to do father and son activities. To do things like karate to keep his mind off of things. Anything that would help Xander steer clear of the destiny that unfolded for Bruce. It was because he wanted better for his son. Something other then the darkness.

Suddenly a scream penetrated the night air, that snapped Bruce out of his musings. Coming out of his daze, Bruce looked around and saw that he was so deep in thought that he had walked all the way to the bad, seedier part of town. As the scream sounded off again, he recognized the little murmur to be that of a little girls. Seeing that her screams were coming from an apartment building, he took off like a shot towards it.

* * *

"Hold still babe, this want take long." a big burly, biker type was saying to a little raven haired girl.

"NO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she kicked him in the shins and curled in a ball in the corner.

"OW!" he yelled in outrage, as he hopped on his good leg. "You stupid bitch." he said as he walked over to her, slapped her hard across the back with a leather belt, and threw her on top of a bed. "Your stupid whore of a mom, gave you to me as payment." he said as he made her look over at a corner, to see her mom shooting up on drugs.

"And I'm gonna collect on that payment." he informed her, as he sat on the bed and started to undo his pants. Suddenly, after another scream from the little girl, the door exploded off of it's hinges.

Looking up, the drug dealer, saw a man wearing a business suit, with blazing brown eyes standing at the door way.

* * *

As Bruce heard the little girl scream once again, he saw that it was coming from apartment number 227. Calling on his strength, because of the days work grind, he lifted up his foot and kicked the door in. As he peered inside, he literally wanted to vomit as he saw a behemoth of a man, unzipping his pants trying to get on a little girl.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man asked as he stood to his feet. "Get the hell out of here!"

But, Bruce didn't say a word, as he walked into the room and delivered an upper cut to the man's rib cage. A couple ribs go. A left hook to his face and his nose shattered. With an elbow to his head his jaw broke, making the drug dealer stumble back to the wall and fall to his knees. Not caring about his pain, Bruce decided that he wasn't finished yet and as he moved in...a dark haired beautiful woman got in his way.

"Get the hell out of here this is none of your buisness!" the woman yelled at him.

"None of my business?" Bruce asked as he looked at the woman hard. "That man was about to..." he then stopped as he looked over the woman's shoulder and saw the needles and drugs laying on the floor.

Then his mind processed what was going on. When he went on a self destructive path and traveled the world, he saw how the poor and drug abused people lived. He learned that people would do anything for more drugs, like killing people or what this woman was about to let happen to her daughter.

"How the hell could you do this?" Bruce asked in outrage, as he felt someone tugging at his legs. Looking down, he saw that it was the little girl holding onto his legs, looking up at him with frightened eyes.

"This is my fucking house. Not yours." the woman informed him as she jabbed a finger in his chest. "Now get the fuck OUT!" she said as Bruce stood his ground and stared at her hard. "GET THE FUCK OUT AND TAKE THAT LITTLE BITCH WITH YOU!" she screeched as she looked down and saw her daughter holding onto him.

With a final glare towards the woman, Bruce picked the little girl up in his arms, watched as the woman ran over to her drug dealer, and walked out of the apartment building.

* * *

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Bruce soothed the now crying little girl, as he held on to her tightly. It was very cold outside and all she was wearing was an oversized T-shirt. "You're safe now." Lifting up her tear streaked face from his shoulder, she looked deeply into Bruce's eyes.

Not being able to say anything, she lowered her head back on his chest and gently started to shake. Sitting her down, he took off his jacket wrapped it around her, and picked her up again.

"Thank you." came her little voice after another moment of walking.

"She talks." Bruce commented as he smiled down at her. "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Faith."

"Well my name is, Bruce." he said as he made a turn down another street. "Do you have any family, I can take you too?"

"I...I...had an aunt but mom told me she died about a week ago." Faith informed him.

"Is she the only family you had?" Bruce asked worriedly. There was no way in hell, he was taking her back to her so called mom.

"Yes."

"Well you don't have to worry, Faith." Bruce said making up his mind. "Because you're gonna come live with me and my son."

"I wouldn't count on that if, I were you." a voice said from behind him. Turning he saw that it was about six thugs, all with some form of weapons. "Because my boss called me and said that he wants that little bitch back." he said as he pointed at Faith.

"Over my dead body." Bruce said as he sat Faith down and made her stay behind him.

"Whatever you say man." the lead thug replied, as all six of them charged at Bruce.

Gotham

Wayne Manor

Two Days Later

Bruce opened the door to his home and smiled as he saw Alfred and Xander on the floor trying to assemble a train set.

"What on earth happened to you, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he stood to his feet and saw the bruises on his face.

"Ouch." Xander said as he looked at him. "Just looking at you makes me hurt."

"I ran into a little trouble in, Boston." he replied as he closed the door. "And I brought home a guest."

"I hope your mind isn't playing tricks on you, Master Bruce." Alfred said giving him a look. "But I don't see anyone but you." he said making Bruce turn around and smile.

"It's okay, Faith." he said to the scared little girl wearing the new clothes he bought her, holding onto the back of his leg. "Nobody here is gonna hurt you." and after another minute, Faith peeked her head out from behind him and looked over at Alfred and then Xander.

"Hi." Xander said as he walked over to her.

"Hi." Faith replied shyly, as she let go of Bruce's leg.

"Xander you stay here with, Faith." Bruce said as he walked off from them. "I have to talk to Alfred alone." he said as he walked out of the room with Alfred, leaving the two children alone.

* * *

"May, I ask why you brought a little girl here?" Alfred started the conversation, as they walked into the living room.

"Two days ago when I finished my business meeting I walked outside and I heard her screaming." Bruce said as he closed the door. "When I went to her home, her mom was going to let a drug dealer rape her to get her fix. I couldn't just leave her there."

"I understand that. But why did you bring her here and not to the police?"

"I was going to but, she already told me she doesn't have any other family left." Bruce explained. "And I used a contact in Boston, who is going to draw some papers up for me to legally adopt Faith in the morning."

"But what about her mother?" Alfred asked, making Bruce growl. "What if she later wants to get, Miss Faith back?"

"As far as me and my contact are concerned, she gave up all parental rights to Faith when she told her to get the hell out." Bruce said as he opened the door. "Now let's tell the kids that Faith will be the new..." he was cut off as he heard Faith screaming. Throwing the door all the way open, he and Alfred quickly ran out of the room.

"Hey. Hey!" Bruce shouted as he pulled Faith off of Xander. "What's going on in here?"

"She started it." Xander said as he pointed at Faith.

"Only, because he called me dumb." she whined, as Bruce picked her up and squeezed her tightly.

"Xander, we do not call people names in this household." Bruce growled. "Now how did this get started?"

"Because she broke my train." he said as he pointed at it. "The box said not to push a certain button and she pushed it anyway."

"Faith, didn't you read what the box said?" Bruce asked her calmly.

"I...I... can't read." Faith told him sadly.

"See." Xander said in a huff. "I told you she was dumb."

"Alex!" Alfred reprimanded as he fixed Xander with a hard glare.

"No." Bruce said as he gave Alfred a look. "There's no need to get mad at all." he said as he led all of them to the library. Sitting Xander down on his leather chair, he walked over and picked up an old book that his mother used to read to him as a child.

"Xander, if you think Faith is so dumb then I want you to teach her how to read." Bruce said as he shoved the book in his hand and put Faith on the floor. "And you're not coming out of this room until you can do it." with that he spun on his heel and he and Alfred walked out of the room.

With a sigh, Xander cracked open the book and was shocked when Faith sat on his lap.

"A long time ago my mom used to let me sit on her lap and she would read to me." Faith explained, thinking of a time when her mom was clean and not abusing drugs. "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble. Are we five by five?"

As he looked into her eyes, he saw a deep pain in them. Almost the same kind of pain he saw in himself, whenever he would look at his reflection in the mirror. Not saying a word, Xander pulled his little sister until her head rested on his shoulder, as he started to read to her.

"This happened a long time ago..."

Batcave

Sametime

"Don't you think you were a little to hard on Alex, sir?" Alfred asked as he and Bruce watched the children from a surveilance monitor by the batcomputer.

"No." Bruce answered with a smile as he watched and heard his children getting engrossed in the story. "I don't think I was hard enough."

1993

Wayne Manor

Dojo Room

Bruce sat on a bench, wiping the sweat off his brow, as he watched the now twelve year old Xander and the eleven year old Faith square off against one another. Even though he had them for over five years now, it still amazed him to actually say 'his children.' Everything started off rocky at first and...oh who was he kidding, they were still rocky.

Xander and Faith claimed they hated each other with a passion, but Bruce knew it was just a cover and that they loved each other. Every since that day in the library the two called each other brother and sister. And that was before Bruce announced that he was going to adopt Faith.

What he was most happy with was how far the two had come along. The both of them were doing excellant in school and it seemed that Faith would turn out to be an english master. But there was something that unnerved him about his daughter. He had started to teach both of the children what he had learned as far as fighting and for some reason, she seemed unnaturally gifted in that aspect.

And that was what was unsettling about her. Everytime he would look at her fighting, it would be like he was watching himself. And he didn't want that for her. He didn't want her to follow in his footsteps. As he closed his eyes at night, that's what he saw in his nightmares that she would become like him and get herself killed.

Bruce often thought to give up being the bat for his children, but to do that would be to give up Gotham to the criminals. And he just couldn't do that, because he would also be damning the other people of Gotham to death at the hands of said criminals. As he looked up at his girl, who smiled at him, his decision was made at what he had to do.

"Miss Faith and Master Alexander are coming along quite nicely." Alfred commented as he walked over and handed Bruce a glass of water.

"Yeah." Bruce muttered as he took a sip of water. "Perhaps to good."

Watching her brother's movements Faith flipped backwards, and went on the defensive against a high kick followed by three spin-kicks, and fought back with a spin-kick of her own, sending Xander into a roll on the mat.

Having him right where she wanted him, she opened with a flying kick at Xander, who quickly rolled out of the way. As he got to his feet and he back-flipped over Faith's next kick, dodged a third kick, ducked a fourth, and finally retaliated with a spinning attack of his own to Faith's gut, taking her down.

"With just a little more practice sis you might be as good as me one day." Xander commented and then winked.

With a laugh at Faith's growl, Xander ducked another spinning kick from her. Hesitating for a moment, to try to anticipate his sister's next move, he finally decided the hell with it and bore down on his younger sibling with a kick and a couple of punches. Not being able to dodge fast enough Faith was sent to the mat, and to add insult to injury Xander struck her again. Doing a fancy spinning move to get to her feet and to keep her brother back, Faith charged at Xander, throwing a powerful high-kick. But Xander ducked it and retaliated with an onslaught of spinning kicks and punches; forcing Faith onto the defensive. Blocking the punches and kicks Faith spin-kicked towards Xander and took him down with a side-kick.

Hitting his fist angrily on the floor, Xander stood to his feet and rushed Faith, throwing a kick and two punches. Faith blocked the first, dodged the second, and knocked Xander to the mat with the aid of a couple of kicks. Before he could get to his feet, Faith firmly planted her foot on his chest to hold him down.

"Looks like I had enough practice, bro." Faith said as she looked down at him and blew a kiss.

"That's enough." Bruce said softly, as he walked over to them. "Faith can I talk to you alone for a minute?" he asked as he walked out of the room.

"Do you think dad is mad at me?" Faith asked Xander as she helped him to his feet.

"Don't worry about it." Xander replied as he brushed off his white sparring suit. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Later that day

As Xander walked past his little sister's room, he heard her silently crying to herself. Opening up her door, he saw her lying on her bed, with her face down in her pillow.

"Faith are you okay?" Xander asked as he came fully into her room.

"Go away." she managed to get out as she looked up at him.

"What happened?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "Did dad hit you?"

"No...he's...he's sending me away." she said as she sat up. "He's sending me away to boarding school."

"What!" Xander yelled as his eyes went wide. "Why is he..."

"He said it's because it's the best for me right now." she interrupted his question. "Was it something that I did wrong? Doesn't Bruce love me anymore?"

Pulling his sister into a hug, all he could think about at the time is how she said her father's name. She had never called him Bruce before, it was alway's Pa or dad. As his sister held onto him tighter, he wondered if a rift was going to form between the two.

A week later

Wayne Manor

Front Gate

With a tear in her eye as Faith looked back at her brother and father, Alfred opened the back passenger seat of the family car. As she was about to step in, she heard her brother yelling out her name.

"I...I wanted to give you something before you left." Xander said as he handed her a book. Looking down at it she saw that it was the first book that he had taught her to read. It was The Cat and the Hat. "Goodbye, Faith."

"Goodbye, Alex." she said as she gave him a quick hug. Not caring to say or even acknowlege her father, she stepped into the car and drove off with Alfred.

"Things are going to be okay, son." Bruce promised as he put a hand on Xander's shoulder. "You'll see."

Four Years Later

A Day Before The Events of Chapter Four

A curvy, beautiful brunette strutted her way up to a place she once called home. Looking at the finely built victorian home brought back alot of memories for her. Some were good and others were bad, but nevertheless she had to get a few things off of her chest with her father, before she skipped town. Walking up to the entrance, she rung the door bell.

"Miss Faith, what a pleasant surprise." Alfred said as he opened the door and gave her a hug.

"Hey, Al." Faith said warmly as she returned the hug. "Is Bruce in?"

"Yes, he's in his study."

* * *

"Sir, there's someone here to see you." Alfred said as he peeked into the study and saw Bruce doing mountains of paperwork.

"Send them in." he replied not looking up from the papers he was reading.

"Same old, Bruce." the voice said making him stop reading. "All work and no play."

"Faith." Bruce said with a big grin as he stood to his feet. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he pulled her into a hug, she didn't return.

"We need to talk." she said as she pushed her father off of her. "I can't take private school anymore. Just give me my inheritance, so I can get the hell out of here."

"What?" he asked in shock.

"You heard what I said, Bruce." she said as she held her hand out. "Just give me the money so..."

"No. Faith I don't know what's going on but..."

"You don't care about me is what's going on." Faith muttered to herself.

"You think, I don't care about you?" Bruce asked increduously. "Faith you're my little girl, I love..."

"That's a fucking joke." Faith said as she threw her hands up in the air. "I'm so out of here."

"Not until you explain yourself." Bruce said as he spun her back around to face him. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is you, Bruce." Faith said as she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "I'm tired of trying to be what you want me to be. I'm tired of going to that uppity private school and I'm tired of this rich girl bullshit, it just ain't me."

"Firstly, I sent you away to that private school because I want the best for..."

"No you sent me away because you wanted to get rid of me." Faith cut him off as a tear fell from her eye. "You're no better then my mom."

And when she said that, Bruce finally understood what his little girls problem was. He knew that she had always had abandonment issues, but he was the cause of making that worse. All those times he had to go off on business meetings, all the times he wasn't there for her on her important days, and all the nights he had to leave her and her brother when he had to be Batman. And then to top it all off, he had sent her away to private school in Metropolis.

"I didn't send you away to get rid of you." Bruce said as he tried to grab her hand. "I sent you away because I wanted a better life and education for you. A better life then I could provide."

"You know when my mom told me that she didn't want me, I said to myself that it was okay." she said looking up into his eyes. "And you wanna know why, Bruce? It's because you said you would protect me. You said that you would be my new daddy and that you would always be there for me."

"I know baby."

"But you were never there for me, Bruce." she continued. "You always went to your damn business meetings and let's not forget all those nights you would leave and come back with bruises. I was so scared when I saw you like that. I thought it was my ma beating you and that she was gonna come back for me. All I wanted as a little girl was for you to hold me and tell me that I was pretty. Hell Alfred was a better father then you were." she said causing him to flinch.

"All you could find time in your cold heart to do was teach me and Xander how to fight." Faith continued. "Do you know how lonely we were? How scared we were that something was gonna happen to you? Well I'm an adult now, Bruce so I'm gonna say it to your face. The hell with you and your damn money." she said as she turned to leave. As soon as her hand touched the door knob, her hand started to shake and she turned to Bruce with her body wracking with tears.

"Dad, why don't you love me?" she asked with her tears falling uncontrolably as Bruce walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Faith, I do love you?" Bruce whispered into her ear as he stroked her hair. "I know I didn't always show it, but you and your brother have always been in my heart. That's why I stayed away at all those business meetings. It was because I wanted to make sure that you two stayed happy and had lots of things."

"Dad, I'm sorry about the things I said..."

"Hey, don't ever be sorry, because this is all my fault. If I had been there for the both of you, when you needed me, you would have never felt this way."

Sitting down at his desk, Faith sat on his lap and softly cried out years of frustration out on his chest. All the times her mom abused her and called her worthless, came to mind, and made her cry even harder. All Bruce could do for his daughter was to stroke her hair and hold her as she started to let it all go. As he held his daughter in his arms, he suddenly thought about another little girl from their past. It made him wonder if she was well taken care of, because she was supposed to be his little girl too. But as fate would have it, she was taken away from him, from all of them in the blink of an eye. As he thought about that he and Faith sat that way for hours, until Faith looked up at him when her tears subsided.

"I don't want to go back to, Metropolis."

"It's to late to take you out." Bruce informed her. "But you can come back to Gotham, after..."

"I hate, Gotham." she cut him off. "Why can't we just go some place else?"

"You know I can't leave, Faith. This company is gonna be the legacy, I leave behind for you and Xander." he said as he thought about her earlier words. "That is of course, if you care about my damn money?" he asked as they both chuckled.

"I just don't wanna be here."

"I don't want you to think that, I'm trying to send you away." Bruce said thinking. "But what if I send you to California after you finish the rest of the year in Metropolis."

"Cali?" she perked up a little at that. "What's there."

"Your brother."

"I don't wanna hang out with..." then she thought about, how she could tease and torment her older brother and a wicked gleam filled her eyes.

Now

Xander's Mansion

"Nice digs, bro." Faith said as she walked past him and looked around. "I think I might actually like living here."

'This is a new low for dad.' Xander thought to himself. 'What I did wasn't that...'

"Xander we have a problem." Diana said urgently as she ran into the room.

"What's going on?"

"That was Dawn on the phone, she said something's happened."

"What?" Xander asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's Buffy." Diana said sadly. "She's been shot."

A/N This was basically a bonus chapter before I'm gonna have a chapter about Buffy's fate. Faith is basically gonna be herself (like she was in the show) in the rest of the chapters. In this one, I just felt that a lot of the feelings she had bottled up inside had to come out. My reasoning for her character being the same from the show (even though I know people will find it flawed.) is that her mom's abuse, coupled with Bruce's negligence caused her to harden her heart some and be distant with people.

The girl is still fifteen years old and in her mind since Bruce broke his promises to her, then he's no better then her mom was. All she wanted was someone to love and take care of her, but seeing as she didn't feel that from Bruce a part of her started to hate him.

TBC...

Please Review...


	18. Chapter 17 Bring Me Back To Life

A/N Thanks for the reviews. To Darklight, I'm not gonna turn Faith into a Slayer in this fanfic, so don't worry about that. So I guess that answers part of your question to Anthony1. Now for the other thing you said. In all of the other fanfics, I've read about Faith all of them talked a little about her past, but they never showed it. I wanted to do something a little different and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone else that reviewed and part of a fight scene in this chapter is based off of Batman Dead End, the fanfic movie. On another note, it might be awhile before I update this story, because I'm thinking about going back to some of my older fics, so I can finish them.

Chapter 17

Bring Me Back To Life

"What did you say?" Xander asked with wide eyes as he ran up to Diana.

"Buffy's...Buffy's been shot." she repeated slowly.

"Is she..."

"No not as far as I know." she interrupted. "I told Dawn to call and to ride with the ambulance and that we would meet her there."

Place Unknown

Sametime

"Ow, my chest." Buffy said with a wince as she sat up, off the ground.

Opening her eyes, she saw a delicate hand reaching out to help her to her feet. Excepting it she looked up and saw that it was somebody dressed in an all white robe that seemed to glow with supernatural shades of blue and white energy. The being also had a white cloak over their head and as Buffy struggled to see who it was, she found their face to be shrouded in darkness.

"Hello, Buffy." the being said in a strikingly familiar female voice. "Welcome to the meeting place." she said causing Buffy to look around. All she could see was an endless void of white and the faint sounds of childrens laughter in the background.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked as she looked at the woman up and down.

"A friend."

"So, I'm really dead?" Buffy asked as she touched where the Joker shot her and found that the wound was gone. With a grimace she took in the clouded void again. 'Well at least, I made it to heaven.'

"Yes." she replied with a shrug. "But it's up to you if you want to stay dead or not."

"What are you tal..."

"Buffy you were to be the most powerful Slayer of all time." she interrupted. "It was your destiny to die, but not to stay dead. Another Slayer has already been chosen, but it's not her destiny to defeat the powerful beings of darkness that's coming. It's yours."

"I...I don't understand." Buffy stuttered.

"You will." the being said as she raised up her arm. "Just take my hand."

Not knowing what else to do, she gripped her hand tightly and dissappeared in a burst of white lights.

Sunnydale Memorial

"Giles, how is she doing?" Xander hurriedly asked as he, Bruce, and Faith entered the waiting room. Diana, Alfred, and Selina stayed home.

"We haven't heard anything as of yet." Giles said as he, Jesse, Dawn, and Willow stood to their feet. "But, I've called her mother and she should be here within the hour."

"Who are you?" Jesse asked, taking in the beautiful vision that was Faith. Seeing that she and Xander were holding hands in a comfortable fashion he assumed... "Is she your girlfriend?"

"What...eewww." Xander said as he shared a look with Faith. "No...this is my little sister, Faith." he introduced them.

"Your sister?" Willow asked giving her a critical eye. It was something about the girl, she just didn't like. "You never told us you had a sister."

"And did you have to introduce me as your little sis?" Faith asked as she slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ummm... Faith Wayne, this is Giles, Willow, Jesse, and Buffy's sister Dawn." Xander said as he rubbed at his now sore head.

"It's...it's a pleasure to meet you, Faith." Giles said as he attempted to shake her hand.

"What's up G-man." she replied as she punched him lightly on the arm.

"And of course you know my father." Xander said as he pointed to Bruce.

"Yes. Hello Mr. Wayne." Giles said as the two shook hands. For a moment he thought the man was going to hit him on the arm as well.

"Excuse me but are you the family of..." the doctor stopped to consult his notes, as he walked into the room. "Miss, Buffy Summers?"

"Yes." Giles said as he, Dawn, and Xander ran up to him. "I'm her, her Uncle Giles. How is she..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Summers." the doctor started sadly. He really hated this part of his job. "We did all we could but...but your niece is dead."

"No!" Dawn shouted. As she was about to collaspe to the floor, Xander caught her and pulled her close.

"It's gonna be alright, Dawn patrol." Xander said, even as he shed a tear himself.

"No...it's...it's not alright." Dawn cried as she looked into his eyes. "That clown...that stupid clown did this."

"What clown?" Xander asked as the others came up behind them.

"You know." Dawn started with a sniff. "The one from the tv show that tricked me and Selina into coming to his studio. I saw him skipping away from our house, after I heard the gunshot that killed Buffy."

'That son of a bitch.' Xander thought with murder in his eyes. "I...I have to get out of here." Xander said as he let Dawn go. "I have to get a breath of fresh air."

"Xand, wait!" Faith called out to him, even as he ran out of the room. She didn't know what this, Buffy meant to him, but she had never seen that look in her brother's eyes before.

"I'll go after him." Bruce said with a wince, as he quickly stood to his feet and hobbled after his son. Getting to him in time, before he got into his car, Bruce grabbed Xander from behind and spun him around.

"Don't try to stop me dad." Xander said forcefully as he pushed off Bruce's hand.

"I want." his father replied as he stared into his son's eyes. "Just as long as you don't do anything stupid."

"This is madness. We keep putting these creeps in jail and what do they do? As soon as they get out they prey on the innocents."

"So what do you have in mind of doing?" Bruce asked.

"I think you know, dad." Xander replied as he opened the door to his car.

"Before you go son, I want you to know one thing." Bruce said knowing full well that he couldn't take his son, because of his injuries. "Wayne's don't kill." 'Except that one time, when I let somebody die.' he thought to himself.

Letting out a breath, Xander looked at his father one last time, got in his car, and drove off into the night.

"I have faith that you'll do the right thing, son." Bruce muttered to himself as he walked back into the hospital.

* * *

"Where are we?" Buffy asked as she and the woman materialized into a dark room. As soon as she asked the question, a tall man, thing with a mismatched demon body, wearing commando fatigues, boots, and a wierd metallic plate covering where his heart should be, stepped out in front of her. "Whoa!" Buffy yelled as she took a step back.

"Don't worry he can't see, hear, or touch you." Cloak said as she looked at Buffy. "And to answer your question we're three years in the future."

Suddenly the double doors to the room, they were in exploded off of it's hinges. As Buffy looked up, she saw a slightly older version of herself strolling into the room.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, as she watched her double fighting the tall demon cyborg.

"What's going on is that, Adam." Cloak said as she pointed at him. "Was created by a secret organization called the Initiative. But something went wrong with his programming and now he's trying to take over the world by trying to make everyone like him."

"Ewww...that's sick." Buffy said with a grimace.

"Quite." Cloak agreed. "You see Miss Summers if you live, you stop him in time before he does any real damage. If you stay dead, then this is what happens." she said as she waved her right hand out, making a shimmering distortion in the air, that caused Buffy's image to be changed to that of both Batmen and for Adam to have a partner at his side.

As Buffy looked closer at the man-thing that stood next to Adam, she saw that it was...

"Jesse?"

"Yes, it's him." Cloak confirmed. "It's a pity really, because he and Miss Rosenberg were supposed to have a little boy together in this year. I believe his name was supposed to be Dick Grayson Mcnally."

"What happened to him?" Buffy asked as she looked at her now half demon friend attack one of the Batmen. He looked just as equally nasty as Adam did, except the bottom part of his jawline was a wierd yellow, just like she assumed the rest of his body looked like.

"Without a Slayer around, Jesse was caught by Adam, earlier in this year and changed into what you see today."

"My God."

"It's time for us to go, Miss Summers." Cloak said as she waved her hand again, making both of them dissappear.

Sunnydale Street

"I guess that really was the killing joke." Joker muttered to himself with a laugh, as he drove towards the outskirts of town with his gold and money. "That blonde was just dying for me."

Suddenly he heard a thump on the top of his van. Ignoring it WHAM! A black shape landed on the hood, making his eyes go wide. Seeing the symbol of the bat on the dark things chest, he tried to swerve off the road when SMASH! A black gloved fist shattered the windshield and grabbed his neck. Losing control over the vehicle, the hand let go of the Joker's neck, as the van ran into a light pole, smashing the front of it on impact.

Landing on his feet, Batman looked back, saw smoke billowing from underneath the hood of the van, and then a moment later saw the Joker stumbling out of the wrecked vehicle. Upon seeing the bat, Joker lost his smile, got to his feet, and started to slowly run down a neighboring alley. Unfolding a larger, razor sharp version of the batarang out of his utility belt, Batman slowly followed him. As if to commence the act that he was going to commit, the heavens opened up and it started pouring down raining.

* * *

"Where are we now?" Buffy asked as she looked around. The place seemed like some sort of construction site, with a tower that looked like it had been built by crazy people. Taking another look, she knew it was built by crazy people, because she saw an army of them talking and murmuring to themselves.

"We're a year further in the future." Cloak informed her. "Had you had of lived, you would have been able to stop her." she said as she pointed to an attractive blonde woman in a red ceremonial robe.

"Granted, she's wearing the hell out of the pumps." Buffy commented, looking Glory up and down. "But she doesn't look so tough."

"Don't let her appearance fool you, Miss Summers." Cloak said as she walked on the other side of Glory. "She's a Goddess."

"Still, she doesn't look so tough." Buffy commented, as she watched her double smack Glory on the side of the head with a large hammer.

"I'll put it this way." Cloak said as she walked back to Buffy. "Do you remember that part in the bible when it said that Lucifer rebelled against God?"

"Yeah. Lucifer was an Archangel right?" Buffy asked, trying to remember her sunday school lessons from when she was a little girl.

"Yes, but you see the story ended in a different way. Glory or Glorificus was also there reeking havoc along side Lucifer. So when God came back to heaven, after sealing all the hellmouth's, sealing the Old One's in tomb's and helping to recreate mankind, he found his place in shambles."

"There's more then one, hellmouth?" Buffy asked in awe of the story.

"Yes, but that's not all. The war in heaven lasted for a very long time and in that time Lucifer lost trust in Glorificus and sided with God for a short period of time to get rid of her. Shortly after that, he was banished from heaven himself."

"So why is she on earth and why, if God himself had trouble with her, am I kicking her butt?"

"She's on earth to get the key to send her back to heaven, so she can take over." Cloak said as the scene changed, to show Batman and even Superman trying to fight back against Glory. "If she succeeds, every hell dimension that exist's will bleed into this one and the demons will take over."

"Before, Lucifer was banished from heaven, he stole the key to the earth realm and the realm to all other dimensions, but before he could take it to hell with him, it fell out of his hands and unto earth. And as far as you beating her, she's actually only at 2 percent strength on the mortal plane. If she were at full strength, she would've squashed you and your friends like bugs."

"So the key landed in, Sunnydale?" Buffy asked, as Superman punched Glory high into the air.

"Not, exactly. It landed in a place that's known as rome in today's time. That's where some monks found it and kept it safe. When Glory found out about it and started searching, they sent the key to you in human form."

"Me? Who..."

"Your sister, Dawn." Cloak informed her. "She's not really your sister. And she's actually older then you. I'm talking beginning of time old."

"But..."

"I have to show you a few more things, Buffy." Cloak said as she extended her hand. "Now come along."

If Buffy had of stayed only, a moment longer she would have seen Willow and a blonde girl, still holding hands under a pile of debris, with their necks twisted at an impossible angle.

Buffy looked around the dark cave and saw about two dozen teen girls, fighting off thousands upon thousands of ancient looking beasts.

"If you had of stayed alive, your friend Willow would have did a spell to activate every potential Slayer into a real Slayer." Cloak said as Buffy's older self appeared carrying a shiny red axe weapon, slicing and dicing every demon that got in her way.

"So, Willow becomes a witch?" Buffy asked. "Cool."

"Buffy, what this battle is, is your final bout on the hellmouth. These girls are your army and without you to lead them against the First evil, the world will be finished and evil wins." she said as a bloody teenaged girl fell at their feet, dead. It looked like her throat had been ripped out.

"She, doesn't even look as though she's older then me." Buffy said, with tears in her eyes as she looked down at the dead girl. "How can I lead these girls, when I can't even keep them alive?"

"Think of all of the people, who will loose their lives if you don't lead these girls." Cloak ordered her to think. "Compared to the six billion people on earth, this girls death was nothing."

"Take me to my friends." Buffy said as she wiped away a tear. "I want to see what they're doing."

"As you wish." Cloak said as they faded away and into the hospital. Looking from face to face, Buffy saw everybody crying and in mourning of her. All except Xander's father and the pretty raven haired girl, he was talking to.

"Dawn." Buffy said as she got on her knees and tried to hug her sister. To her dismay, her hand passed right through her.

"As, I told you before, Buffy no one can see, hear, or touch us." Cloak said as she walked up next to her.

"But, she's so sad." Buffy replied as she stood to her feet. Then a thought occured to her. "Hey, where's Xander?"

Dark Alleyway

"Did you really think that you could get away with what you did?" Batman asked the Joker as he cornered him down the alley.

"Get, away with what exactly?" Joker asked, nonchalantly only for the Batman to hit him hard in the ribs.

"AWAY WITH MURDER!" Batman yelled, spitting out rain water as it fell out of his mouth.

"Oh, that." Joker said, as Batman tossed him to the wet concrete.

"You think you can joke your way out of this?" Batman asked, increduously. "A young girl died tonight because of you."

"Oooooo, she she did die?" Joker asked, proud of himself. "Then, I guess you have to take me to jail, only for me to get out and do it all over again." he said as he reached his hands out, so the caped crusader could put some handcuffs on him.

"Not this time." Batman replied as he croched beside, the clown prince and brought his large batarang up high for the death blow.

"What are you doing?" Joker asked. 'This isn't part of the game.'

"Ending you." Batman replied, as his father's words hit him, along with something else. Hearing a growl, he looked up, and a shovel sized fist exploded on the side of his head, taking him off of his feet and making him splash into a huge puddle of water. Standing to his feet, the Joker saw that it was a large reptillian looking demon, with strange body armour and a face only...well no one could love.

"I'm getting out of here." Joker said as he ran down the opposite side of the alley. "You people are crazy."

"Who or what the hell are you?" Batman demanded, as he stood to his feet and stared hard at the demon. 'Maybe it was just fate, so I wouldn't...' he didn't even want to think about what he had just done.

"I am Grogmoth Nehal." the demon hissed out proudly, in a deep voice. "And I am here to devour you, for killing my master, Wilkins."

"If you were dumb enough to serve him." Batman said as he spun his batarang weapon around, as they started to circle one another. "Then you deserve to die."

With a growl, the beast kicked a wooden box and swung a heavy fist at the Dark Knight. Going under the move, Batman came strong with two stiff kicks and a punch to the monsters chest. Having little effect, Grogmoth punched Batman in the face, making him drop his batarang, and picked him up off of his feet. With another beastial growl, the monster hurled Batman, hard into the opposite wall, where he bounced off of it and hit the wet ground.

Only being able to get to his knees, the bat tried to take out the towering monsters legs, with a few punches to his leg, only for the monster to kick him hard in the ribs. Going with the move, Batman rolled up to his feet and picked up a nearby steel pipe. Swinging it as hard as he could, he managed to knock the creature off balance and away from him.

Annoyed, Grogmoth jumped back, to avoid another swing, and lowered his arm activating a claw like weapon in his arm gaunlet. Seeing the new threat, Batman tossed aside the steel pipe and quickly bent down to retrieve his large batarang. Not even standing fully erect, the demon slashed out, cutting deeply through Batman's armour and into his skin, making him yelp in pain.

Going on the defensive, Batman slashed out with a few swings of his own, but to no avail, as the creature sent him tumbling to the ground with a viscious punch. Looking through the sheet of rain, Batman saw the creature coming to deal his death blow and as it was about to end his life with it's weapon, Batman lifted up his own and blocked the move.

Straining against the demons superior strength, Batman did a circle motion with his weapon that cut the demons claw weapon in half. With a battle cry, Batman did a short run forward, slicing the demon through the gut as he went. Ignoring the demons cry of pain and the green blood oozing out of it's stomach, Batman stabbed it again in the back and finally along the base of it's neck, where he ended it's life.

"Damnit!" Batman yelled in outrage, as he scanned the alley and saw that the Joker was long gone. Suddenly, he heard someone laughing, a very deep and menacing laugh behind him. Turning he saw that it was three more demons, just like the first, standing at the mouth of the alley.

He knew it was easy for him to get away, either by running down the opposite way or shooting a grappling hook line to the Batjet that was silently hovering above him. But something in his mind, at that moment snapped.

"Fuck it!" Batman yelled as he took another large curved batarang out of his utility belt and unfolded it. Spreading his arms out wide, the rain slowly dripped off of him, as the demons prepared an attack.

"Why did you send me here?" Buffy asked Cloak, as they stood on a high building overlooking the fight. "I thought you were gonna take me to see, Xander?"

"Come now, Miss Summers." Cloak said as she crouched down to get a better look at the fight. "Haven't you figured out, Xander's little secret by now?"

Taking another look at the Dark Knight, Buffy finally thought about Cloaks words.

"Ooooo, I was right the whole time. Xander is Batman." Buffy said happily, but then she frowned. "But, what is he doing?"

"Mourning your death." Cloak said as she stood to her feet and looked at Buffy. "When he found out you died, he went searching for the Jack Napier so he could kill him. Needless to say he ran into a little trouble."

"Is there anyway, I can stop this?" Buffy asked, as she watched a demon pounce on Batman.

"This is already happening." Cloak informed her. "So there's nothing that can be done about this, but everything else you saw of the future can be changed."

"Alright send me back."

"As you wish" Cloak said as they materialized in the morgue. If Buffy wasn't a ghost then she would have literally vomited upon seeing her on body laying on a table in front of her. She thought that the bullet hole would've been a little bigger, but it was just so small. So tiny. It was just so wierd to her that a little piece of metal could do what demons three times her size couldn't do.

"Before...before you put me back, I have a few more questions." Buffy said slowly. "It's been awhile since I've been dead. Want my brain be...I don't know, not right anymore?"

'It's not like that's gonna make, that much of a difference.' Cloak thought to herself. "Don't worry, you're covered."

"Okay, one more thing.Why didn't I see the other slayer in any of those flashes of the future?" Buffy asked the being.

"Like I said, she has another destiny to follow. And wierdly enough the way she's going to end her destiny the slayer line will be no more." Cloak replied as she looked back at her charge. "That's why you must be the one to defeat those forces of evil. Because if you don't, this world is finished."

"Alright, I'm ready."

"One more thing. I can't let you remember anything that you saw of the future."

"What? Why?"

"Because, everything must play out as it should." Cloak said as she lifted up her hand making a bright light appear out of it. "If I let you keep these memories and you defeat all of your enemies before it's supposed to happen, then other threats, more powerful then the last will appear."

"Okay, I understand." Buffy said as she took another look at her body. "I...I don't know who you are but, I wanted to say thank you."

"Consider it and this a gift from the Powers That Be." Cloak said as she touched Buffy's forehead, making her ghostly image dissappear. Looking down at Buffy's body, she watched as there was an intake of air in her lungs and then her eyes popped wide open. Seeing that her job was done, Cloak dissappeared in a puff of white lights.

Minutes Later

"Mr. Summers, you want believe this." an orderly said to Giles as he ran up to the group. "It's your niece."

"What about her?" Giles asked as he grabbed the man hard around the shoulders.

"Just come with me, sir." he said, as the whole group, except Bruce and Faith who had left for home, followed the orderly out of the room.

Wayne Manor

"I think it's time for me to tell you why, I sent you away along time ago." Bruce said to Faith as he opened the door to Xander's home. Buffy's death made him realize that if something happened to him and his children found out that he was the bat, that way then his whole life would have been a lie.

"Dad, we already talked about this." Faith said as she gave him a look. She had never shown anyone that side of her before and she didn't like talking about her emotions. "Just leave it alone, okay."

"No, Faith we haven't talked about this before." Bruce said as he grabbed, her by the arm. "This is something serious, that I've kept from you for a long time. I need to tell you that..."

"Grandpa!" Selina yelled urgently, as she ran into the room.

"Grandpa?" Faith repeated with a throaty chuckle, only for Bruce to give her an annoyed look.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Bruce asked his Grand-daughter as he looked down at her.

"Come, quick it's uncle Xander." she said as she ran out of the room. Shooting each other confused and troubled looks, Faith and Bruce followed and as they walked into the other room they saw that the side walkthru door was busted open and glass shards littered the floor. Along with something else. It was Xander laying prone on the living room floor, bleeding from a dozen places as his chest heaved from the exertion. His blood smeared on the beige carpet, even though Alfred had placed a sheet over him.

"He arrived in this condition a few moments ago, Bruce." Alfred told him, at his position beside Xander. "Diana is in the other room calling the ambulance."

"What happened to him?" Faith asked as she tried to touch her brother's forehead, but Alfred held her back. Then she noticed a black cloth by her brother's side. Picking it up, to feel the fabric, she noticed it to be some kind of kevlar. Making sure nobody was looking, she put it in her jacket pocket.

"Don't touch him, Faith." Alfred said as he looked up at her. "I don't think it's wise to try to move him until, the ambulance arrives."

"Is...is uncle Xander going to die?" Selina asked as tears filled her eyes. She had already lost her father and...

"Of course not." Faith said as she gave Selina's hand a gentle squeeze. "We Wayne's are strong. Nothing's going to happen to him." she said wanting to believe her own words.

"Selina, this is your aunt Faith." Bruce said introducing the two. "Could you show her where her room is?"

"But dad..." Faith was about to say, until she saw the look in his eyes. He just didn't want Selina to see any of this. Nodding her head in understanding, she let Selina lead her upstairs.

"Dad..." Xander said sluggishly as he attempted to sit up.

"Stay still son, you'll be alright." Bruce said as he crouched down with a wince and held him down.

"Dad, I didn't kill him...Wayne's...Wayne's don't kill..." Xander said as he closed his eyes. His father's voice was the only thing he heard, as darkness claimed him.

Sunnydale Hospital

Xander opened his eyes, still groggy, his face beaded with sweat. Feverish. As he slowly looked around, he saw all of his friends gathered around his bed staring at him.

"What...what's going on?" Xander asked hoarsely.

"We were hoping you would tell us." Giles said as he walked over to him. "What happened to you?"

"Yeah, Xand-man you scared us half to death." Jesse said as he patted him on the shoulder, making him wince. "Sorry."

"Oh..ummm..." Xander stopped to think up a convincing lie. Especially since his sister, Dawn, Joyce, and Selina were also in the room. "When I heard about Buffy dying, I went out to blow off some steam and some gang members on PCP beat me up."

"Who died?" a voice asked beside him, stopping him cold. Looking over, he saw that it was Buffy in the neighboring bed beside him.

"But...but how?" Xander said still groggily and looking down at his arm, he saw why. It was because, the IV drip that was hooked up to his arm was pumping out morphine.

"I don't...I don't remember." Buffy replied, confused herself.

"We'll talk about this all tomorrow." Bruce said getting everybodies attention. "That's let our kids get some sleep. It's been a hard day."

"Dad, about what I said earlier..."

"We'll talk about it later, son." Bruce said as he and the others walked to the door.

"Bye bro." Jesse and Faith said at the same time, making the both of them smile at one another. Seeing that, made Willow realize that she really wasn't going to like the new girl.

"So what really happened?" Xander asked Buffy as everyone left the room.

Not getting a response, he looked over and saw Buffy silently sleeping. With a lopsided grin, he cut off the lamp that sat on the little desk between his and Buffy's bed, pitching the room in darkness. Sitting back in his bed, he thought about what new adventures life would take him on.

Jamaica

Sametime

With all the strength she could muster, Kendra flung the two vampires off of her, sending them flying almost ten feet away. With super human speed she dropped to the ground and did a leg sweep on the lead vampire, sending him tumbling to the ground. With one swing of the sword she dropped earlier, she chopped off the surprised vampire leaders head.

Sensing something demonic approaching her from behind she snapped out a sidekick. While avoiding a punch, she charged and impaled the second vamp in the stomach with her sword. Using her superior upper body strentgh, she sent the sword slicing through the vamp, cleaving him cleanly in half.

As his body crumbled into dust, a fist came out of the cloud, punching her hard and rocking her head back. Dropping her sword, she blocked another punch and suddenly, the vampire found a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest. With wide eyes he exploded and as his dust cleared, it was revealed that Wesley was behind them.

"You're getting a whole lot better, Kendra." Wesley said as he put his mini crossbow in his side bag and started to right some notes. "You're still a bit stiff, but we'll work on that."

"Tank, you for de help, sir." Kendra said as she picked up her sword. As she did so, a necklace fell out from around her neck. It was on a gold chain and the pendent on it was of a half of a heart. Making sure her Watcher wasn't looking, she placed it back under her shirt. It was forbidden for a Slayer to carry something over from their past and she was afraid that her Watcher would take it from her.

"Yes, yes. Now I have some news." Wesley said as he looked up at her. "It was confirmed, just today that the Slayer Buffy Summers is indeed dead. Having said that, Quinton Travers, the head of the council, called me himself and said that he wanted us to take her place in Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Kendra asked. "Why would vampires, nest in a place called dat?"

"I'm inclined to agree." Wesley said as he started to walk the way towards home, Kendra only a step behind him. "However, he said that for the meantime we shouldn't worry about the vampires of Sunnydale at this time. He mentioned something about wanting you to slay a giant bat first."

"A giant bat?" Kendra asked confused. "Dat sounds interesting."

Place Unknown

The being with the white robe, Buffy nicknamed Cloak, walked deeper into the voids of white clouds and with each step she took the room changed. Dark shadows replaced the light and as she sat down on a throne, the room changed to only fire and brimstone.

"Sire." a large green demon snake spoke, as it slithered it's way up to her. "I am but a servant, but may I ask why you helped the Slayer."

"Because, if I can't achieve my Ascension on earth one way." the being started as it removed it hood, revealing her to be ?. "Then I'll have to do it, another way."

"Very wise, my master." the serpent said as it turned back to the darkness.

"Just a few more years Miss Summers." ? said as it sat deeply in it's throne and smiled. "Just a few more years and finally the present I gave you will come to fruitation and I will be free."

A/N I decided to skip the years of what happens in seasons 2 and 3 just incase someone wanted to take over my story, after I'm finished with it. Also because the mayor is dead and, the next author after me can be creative on who that seasons villian is gonna be.

Also I know it was confusing about the scenes with Buffy. Basically the first part of the scenes of the future was what she was supposed to have been doing if she was still alive at that point. When I describe the scene as being changed to show Batman or somebody else, then that's what's happening because of her not being around. Also, I'm sorry for not having that much Faith action in this chapter but I just had to get this part of the storyline out. You'll get the Scoobies reaction to her in the next chapter.

And on a final note, Batman will face Catwoman in the next chapter and it will also start the Summers Interlude.

TBC...

Please Review...


	19. Chapter 18 Hear Me Roar

A/N The bullet that shot Buffy, grazed her spinal column causing her not to be able to walk for a short period of time. That said, she didn't go with her father to stay for the summer, but Dawn did. Also Darklight asked, how many more chapters this story is gonna be, it should be about six or seven more chapters at least. And yes, Faith kept up with her training.

To Anthony1, I just couldn't leave the story alone man. And to anyone that read the end of the knight fanfic, it's been nominated for an Sunnydale Memorial award and I would appreciate it if you guys would vote for it. Email me and I'll give you the information you need. Also I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 18

Hear Me Roar

Wayne Manor

Faith walked past the living room area of her brothers house and peeked inside. She saw her niece Selina, Xander, and Diana sitting on the couch laughing at a cartoon marathon they were watching. Xander had his arm around Diana and she in turn rested her head on his chest, while Selina had her feet on his lap eating some popcorn.

The scene reminded her of when she and Xander were younger and Bruce didn't have any business meetings or any secret rendezvous' anywhere. Bruce would just sit around with them around a fireplace and read stories to them for hours. Or he would just hang out with them and just watch tv. Clearing her mind of those thoughts, she took one last look at her brother and walked out into the night.

Caliban Jewelry Store

"Thanks for coming down here with me, Buffy." Jesse said as he wheeled the Slayer into the expensive, yet strangely empty jewelry store. The only one there was an old sales clerk, that looked like she was bored out of her mind.

"It's about all, I can do." Buffy replied glumly, as he pushed her wheel chair up to a display case.

"Buffy, cheer up will ya. You'll be able to walk again in another couple of weeks." Jesse started. "Just think about all the people who aren't blessed enough to be able to do that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Buffy replied as she looked into the display case. "Hey, I think Willow would like that." she said as she pointed at a beautiful necklace that had charms on it. "Just how are you gonna afford the stuff that's in here anyway?" the Slayer asked, causing him to chuckle.

"I've been saving up some money for a long time, so I could leave on a road trip after graduation." Jesse admitted. "But now that I have Willow, I just want to buy her some nice things."

"You really love her don't you?" Buffy asked as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah." he replied with a blush.

"Ahhh, isn't that sweet." a voice said behind them. Before Jesse could turn all the way around, he felt a pinch on the back of his neck and then nothing as he fell to the floor, unconcious.

"Nice wheels." Catwoman said to Buffy, with a wink as she vaulted over the jewelry case. Smashing it, she scared off the old sales clerk, as she tossed diamond rings and other jewelry into her bag.

"Wh...what did you do to my friend, bitch?" Buffy asked with a wince as she tried to get her legs to work.

"Easy who you call bitch, bitch." Catwoman replied as she looked up at her. "Can't you tell a feline when you see one?"

"No, but I can tell a skank when I see one." Buffy quipped as she successfully stood to her feet, only to fall flat on her face.

"Be seeing you, sit and spin." Catwoman mocked as she walked past the down Slayer with a chuckle. "Oh, and give this to your friend when he wakes up." she said as she dropped the charm necklace next to Buffy's outstretched hand as she sauntered out of the store.

"Damn." Buffy muttered to herself as she looked over at the still unconcious Jesse.

Wayne Manor

The Next Day

"So let me get this straight. A giant cat robbed the jewelry store?" Xander asked as he handed Buffy, Jesse, and Willow a soda. And as he sat back on the couch, Faith slipped into the room and sat on his lap.

"What are you guy's talking about?" she asked, as she got rather comfortable on Xander's lap and to have everybody else in the room to look at the two wierdly.

'God, I thought they said they were brother and sister?' seemed to be the Scooby's thoughts.

"Buffy was just telling me that a giant cat stole something from the local jewelry store."

"For the last time it wasn't a cat." Buffy interrupted, as Faith and Xander started to chuckle. "It was some skank in a leather cat suit."

"Well she didn't steal everything." Jesse said as he dug into his pocket and handed Willow a black jewelry box. "Happy anniversary, Willow."

"Oh my...oh my God." Willow said as she opened the box and engulfed him in a hug. "It's beautiful. I love it." As the two kissed Faith looked at them and smiled.

"Ahh, isn't that sweet." Faith said, making Jesse and Buffy share a look.

"Jesse, do you mind wheeling me into the kitchen."

"Yeah, Buff." Jesse said as he stood to his feet and grabbed the back handles of her wheel chair. "Be back in a sec." he said as he leaned down, gave Willow a kiss, and walked out of the room with Buffy.

"Did you hear what, Faith said?" Buffy immediately asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Yeah and now that I think about it, she sounds just like the girl that put the Xena pinch on me last night." Jesse said as he peeked out of the door and saw the girl in question, talking to Willow. "Granted, I never saw who did that to me, but her voice sounds just the same."

"We have to tell, Xander about this."

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Xander started as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You think my sister is that cat burglar you saw last night?"

"I know this is hard for you to accept..."

"It's not hard to accept at all." Xander cut Buffy off. "I know my sister has a strong personality, but if you don't like her then just say so."

"Xand come on." Jesse started. "This isn't about..."

"Listen. Me and Faith have had a rough life, especially her." Xander said looking at them both in turn. "I don't always show it, but I love Faith with everything in me and I refuse to listen to lies about her."

"But..."

"No, Buffy that's enough." Xander said angrily as he walked out of the kitchen door.

"That went well." Jesse deadpanned, as Buffy rolled her eyes at him.

Later That Night

Faith awoke from a deep sleep, because of a low beeping noise. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up in her bed, reached into her dresser drawer and pulled out a black watch.

"Show time." she said as she clicked the side of the watch, cutting off the beeping noise. Getting out of her bed, she quickly gathered up some clothes and got dressed.

* * *

Letting out a heavy sigh, after coming back from his long drive, Xander closed the front door to his home and immediately walked into his living room and sat down heavily on his couch. He couldn't believe what Buffy and Jesse were suggesting about his sister. He knew that Faith could be a little eccentric at times, but a cat burglar was pushing it.

According to Buffy's descriptions of this Catwoman, earlier that day Xander had checked the Batcomputer's data base and tracked down her exploits. He had to admit that from what he read only an experienced ninja could do what Catwoman could do but, it being... suddenly he heard someone walking down the hall making a loud clattering noise. Looking up, he saw that it was Faith carrying a large duffle bag heading for the front door. Curious as to what she was doing, he followed her.

* * *

Faith had the distinct impression that someone was following her, but as she kept turning around she didn't see anybody. Taking it as just her own paranoia, she kept up her pace and walked deeper into the woods.

Hearing a rustling of leaves, she tilted her head slightly to the side and watched as a small dagger embedded itself harmlessly in a tree next to her head.

"You'll have to be faster then that to kill me." Faith said into the wind as she dropped her bag and pulled the dagger out of tree.

"I wasn't trying to kill you." a figure said as it emerged out of the shadows. It was a tall man that looked as if his costume were made out of kevlar and part metal armor. But what was most interesting was his face or mask. One side was jet black without an eyehole for him to see and the other side was orange and his single eye seemed to look through her very soul. "It was only another test." Slade informed her.

"How many of these tests are you going to put me through?" Faith asked as she tossed the dragon dagger back to him."

"As many that I deem necessary, apprentice." Slade replied as he sheathed his weapon. "I've been doing a study of this...Sunnydale." he said as he took a look around the place. Something about this region of California unnerved him. "And, I heard of the gold that the imbecile the Joker tried to steal."

"And?"

"And, I want you to steal the rest of it. Now this is what I want you to do..."

'I can't believe this.' Xander thought to himself from his position behind some bushes. 'Buffy and Jesse were right.' Listening to the rest of Slade's plan, he stood up and dissappeared into the darkness.

The Next Day

Night

"Ha!" Selina yelled out as she did an effortless roundhouse kick.

"Wicked." Faith said with a smile and a clap of her hands. "You're better at this, then I was when I was your age."

"I can't wait to show uncle Xander what I can do." Selina said with a wide grin.

"Speaking of your uncle, have you seen him?" Faith asked. "He hasn't been around all day."

"No, I haven't seen him." Selina repled as she hunched up her shoulders. "Now will you teach me some more karate moves?"

"Sorry, Kit." Faith said as she ruffled the little girls hair. "I got a night job to get too."

First Municipal Bank

'Damn just getting the gold." Catwoman thought to herself as she leaned her head on the big bank vault and spun away at the combination. She had already loaded the gold in a truck outside, after the bank had closed, but she wanted something more. Something for herself.

"Getting a bit greedy aren't we?" a deep voice asked from behind her.

"No, I'm just curious to see how much I can...TAKE!" she yelled out as she spun around and extended a leg. Only for a dark figure to block and hold it.

"You know what they say about cat's and curiousity." Batman said as he back handed her, sending her spinning to the floor.

"Oh, you're so gonna pay for that, yo." Flipping back to her feet, she jumped into three simultaneous rainbow kicks. Going under the moves, Batman kicked out himself, only for her to block it and hold his leg.

"Sorry, that I can't stay and dance." she said as she gave him a big sloppy kiss on the lips and threw a small ball at his face that started to emit gas that blinded him momentarily. Still holding onto his leg, as he coughed, Catwoman spun around and kicked his other leg out from under him, sending him to the ground.

Coming out of his coughing fit and being able to see again, Batman looked around and saw that Catwoman was gone. Standing all the way to his feet, he quickly walked about the room and saw the door to the roof access closing. Running up the four stories of the bank, he finally opened the roof access door and peered out into the Sunnydale night sky.

"You're a bad kisser." A voice suddenly said, making his head jerk up. But he couldn't see anything, even as a sudden whooshing noise was made behind him.

"It was almost like kissing my brother." and now the voice was coming from the other side of the roof.

Trying to get a fix on where the voice was coming from, he looked around and got a quick glimpse of a feline shadow springing all around the roof, clinging to exposed pipes and fixtures. Narrowing down where she was flipping, he reached for a Batarang.

"Sorry to dissappoint you."

He'd barely gotten it out when she slammed into him from behind, feet first, knocking him to the rooftop. He tried to get up, but she came at him with a couple of cartwheeling kicks, knocking him back against a wall. Ducking to the right, he was just able to avoid a sharp spiked heel, that struck the exposed brick a mere three inches from his throat. Catching her leg, he upended her, but she somersaulted away and landed on her feet. Like cats always do and dissappeared in the shadows.

"Not a dissappointment really." Catwoman told him, almost conversationally. "I mean what can you expect from a giant rat?"

Tracking where she was he flung the batarang, but with super agility she dodged it. As it clanged into the wall behind her, she sprang up into the darkness, out of reach.

"Missed me, missed me now you gotta..." she called down from the shadows and hearing a whisper in his ear Batman turned. "...kiss me." she finished as she dropped directly onto him and locked him in a death grip.

Not being able to support both of their weight, they staggered backwards across the roof, directly toward the edge where a lower building was directly beneath them. Hearing a whirling sound, he looked down and saw some huge fan blades turning on the lower roof. Using some reserves of his strength, he pushed Catwoman back and broke free making them both fall back onto the roof. Unknown to him, but she anticipated his move: and when he rushed at her, she braced herself against the ground and kicked upward with startling force. This time the spiked heel connected lifting Batman up and off his feet, knocking him over the edge of the roof.

With a huge grin on her face, Catwoman looked down over the side, only for her leg to be grabbed and for her to be pushed back. As she fell down on her butt, she looked up and watched as Batman flew over the side of the building and landed in a crouch.

'Damnit.' Batman thought to himself, as he coughed up a little blood. 'One of my...one of my stitches on my stomach opened.' He was still hurting and in pain from the fight he had with those demons in that alley a few weeks ago.

Slumping over because of the pain, stunned, before he knew it, she was on him. She grabbed his throat with one hand and clamped the other around his crotch. As he tried to break her grip, he found that she was just as strong as he was. Lifting him up, she started to force him over the edge of the building. At the last possible second, he grabbed a handful of her hair, yanked it as hard as he could, and with a yowl, she released him.

They then tumbled to the roof and she dove ontop of him, her razor sharp talons clicking into place in her gloves. Opening his eyes, trying to brace the pain, he saw them poised directly above his eyes, but still managed to slam an elbow under her chin before she could strike. Now that they were disentangled; they got up groggily and started to circle each other.

"You look like you're losing your thunder, little mousy." Catwoman commented as Batman huffed, puffed, and started to sway.

Taking out her whip, that sat on her curvy hip, she whipped it out around his neck and slowly started to strangle him. Using the last ounce of his strength, he reached up to Catwoman, and clutching her by her ears, flipped her over his head, slamming her to the ground. Falling over anyway, he gave her a savage elbow to the chest for good measure. Shrugging off the blows, she sprung up as he got up, and swung her whip beneath and behind herself in a tail-between-her-legs motion that stung Batman in the face, making him fall over.

"Be seeing you, bat's." Catwoman said to the downed Batman as she blew a kiss to him. Seeing that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon she jumped off the other side of the building, dissappearing into the night.

Wayne Manor

Much Later That Night

As Faith opened the door to her room, exhausted beyond belief, she saw her brother sitting on her bed.

"Damn bro." Faith started as she rubbed a delicate hand across Xander's black and blue face. "It looks like you went ten rounds with Tyson."

"Actually, it was a big cat." Xander said as he looked up at her. He felt so betrayed. "How long have you been doing this?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, a bit taken aback.

"How long have you been, Catwoman?"

'How the hell does he know.' then it hit her. "Oh my, God."

"How long, Faith?" he asked forcibly.

"How long have you been doing this?" she put it back on him, as she reached into her pocket, pulled out a black piece of cloth, and slapped him hard on the chest with it. "How long have you been Batman?" and for a tense moment, all they could do was stare at each other. Both breathing heavily, until finally Xander answered her.

"I've been Batman for about six month's now." Xander admitted as he took a deep breath. "I had a falling out with dad, after I found out that he was Batman. After that I moved here to try to find the guy that killed my parents."

As he continued talking, all Faith could think about was that her dad...her dad was the Batman. Now her whole life seemed to make sense. All the times he would be away, all the time he would come home with bruises. It was all because he was trying to make Gotham safe for them to live.

"Faith... Faith do you hear me?" Xander asked, snapping her out of her daze.

"Huh?"

"I asked what the hell is going on with you?" he repeated. "And why the hell are you working for, Slade?"

"He saved my life." she replied as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"What?" Xander asked confused.

"Me and my class went on a school fieldtrip to the mountains for the weekend, about a year ago." Faih replied. "Later that night me and some friends skipped the fieldtrip all together and explored the wilderness. We got lost and a giant frickin mountain lion jumped out at us."

"Then what happened?"

"My friends ran one way and I ran the other. It was right on me and when I turned a corner, I fell in a giant sink hole." she stopped to think of that. Being trapped under the earth for hours did something to her mind. She knew in her heart that she would never be the same again.

"And then Slade came along." Xander figured as he stood to his feet and started to pace.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for him, I would be dead right now." she replied as she watched him walk around.

"So you decided to go into a life of crime for him?" Xander asked increduously, as she chuckled. "Faith, the things dad taught us was a gift. He never intended it to be like this, we should be helping people. And besides how good can Slade be if he has you trying to kill people?"

"You just don't get it do you?" Faith asked as she shook her head at her brother. "This has nothing to do with good, evil, or stealing. We're filthy rich remember. No this has nothing to do with money, but it has everything to do with the thrill. And that's what Slade offered me."

"You're sick." Xander replied as he took a step back and really looked at her. For the first time in his life, he was truly scared of and for his little sister. "I went against my friends yesterday because of you. They figured out that you might've been Catwoman, but I defended you. I told them that you would never do anything like that."

"What can I say." Faith said with a shrug. "I'm sorry to dissappoint you."

"But what about, Selina? She loves her aunt Faith. How do you think she's gonna feel, if something happen's to you?"

"Hey, I love Kit." Faith replied as she stood to her feet. "Nothing's gonna happen to me and I'm gonna teach her everything I know."

"Like, hell you are!" Xander growled as he grabbed her roughly around the arm. "I love that little girl and I'll be damned if you're gonna come into her life, just so you can fuck her up like you are."

"I'll see you later, bro." Faith said with a sneer as she shrugged off his arm and walked to the door. "I have somewhere else to be."

"Faith wait." Xander called out as he ran up to her and grabbed her arm. Giving him a look, he quickly let go and took a step back. "Like I said, I was spying on you and Slade last night and when I heard him call you apprentice I...just look at this." he said as he handed her a manilla folder.

"What the hell is this?" she asked as she flipped through the folder and saw gruesome pictures of people who obviously had a horrible death.

"Those people are...were Slade's earlier apprentince's." Xander answered as she tossed the file to the floor. "And if he's pumping you with that super strength serum, then you'll end up just like those people soon, if you don't stop."

"Goodbye, Alex." Faith said as she turned and quickly walked out of the room.

Sunnydale Wood

Faith walked to Slade's usual hideout and saw him sitting down in a chair, under a huge tent.

"Ahhh, Faith to what do I owe..."

"Care to explain this?" Faith asked as she tossed a picture at his feet.

"Tommy Sloan." Slade replied as he picked up the picture. Faith could swear that she heard a smile in his voice as he said the dead teens name. "Where did you get this picture?"

"It doesn't matter." she replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I hate getting played and I ain't gonna end up like him. I want out."

"You dissappoint me apprentice." Slade said as he narrowed his one eye at her. "You should know that the only way out of my organization..." suddenly thirty ninja cyborgs, with all black armour, emerged out of the shadows and surrounded her. "...is death."

"I don't think so." a voice said behind them.

"Xander?" Faith asked as her big brother, stood at her side and got in a fighting stance. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Protecting my little sister." he replied, never taking his eyes off of Slade.

"How touching, Mr. Wayne." Slade said as he smiled under his mask. "A big brother still watching out for the youngest."

"She's a pain in the ass sometimes," Xander said with a shrug. "but I like her."

"And I've just changed my mind about something. When me and Faith first met, she told me that you could never defeat her in combat."

"So?"

"So, Mr. Wayne I'll give you a choice." Slade replied after a moment of thought. "I'll give Faith her freedom, with no strings attached if you fight her right here right now, until I'm satisfied. But if I see any of you holding back, I and my Crybots will kill the both of you."

"You must've been smoking some of that bad stuff." Faith said as she pointed at the mercenary. "There's noway me and Xand..."

"We'll do it." Xander agreed, interrupting Faith. He knew in his heart of heart, despite the training Bruce had given him and Faith, that they wouldn't survive an all out assault against Slade and his army. Especially not without any weapons.

"Excellent, you may start now." as Slade said that his cyborgs formed a circle around the two.

"Xander what the hell are you doing?" Faith asked as she took off her gold watch and tossed it to the ground. "Let's just take these chumps and get out of here."

"I've never beaten you before." Xander replied as the two started to circle each other and as he tossed his watch and wallet to the ground. "Besides, by the time we would have fought all of his ninjas, he would be long gone or we could be so tired that he would just kill us on the spot. Now let's do this!" he yelled as he charged her.

Minutes Later

Finishing off a final spinkick, that connected to Xander's face, Faith watched as her brother fell face first onto the ground.

"Xander!" Faith yelled, as she ran to his side and cradled his bloody and bruised head in her lap. As she looked at his face, she saw that his eyes started to roll in the back of his head. 'God, what the hell have I done?'

"Ahh, the classic story of Kain and Able." Slade taunted, excited about the fight he had just witnessed. And as to pay tribute to the horror of what she had done, it started to rain.

"Shut the hell UP!" Faith growled as a tear fell from her partly swollen eye. Even though she had won the battle, her brother had still given her a few bumps and bruises.

"Congratulations Faith." Slade said as he stood and turned his back to her. "You've won your freedom." And with that, he and his robotic ninjas dissappeared into the shadows, leaving Faith to cry over and hold onto her unconcious brother.

Sunnydale Memorial Hospital

Faith climbed into bed, with her still unconcious brother, and cracked open a book to read to him. She quickly learned why her brother seemed so weak during their fight. He had already had a concussion, but during the fight Xander had popped open some stiches and lost a lot of blood. She was just happy that she had gotten to him to the hospital in time.

Losing her flare for reading at the moment, she looked at his still form and frowned. He had all kinds of tubes connected to machines running through his body and he looked so fragile. But what was most shocking was the fact that she had did that to him. Feeling a sudden amount of fatigue run through her, she curled up in his arm and fell asleep at his side. Only to be awakened a few minutes later by a tiny voice.

"Aunt Faith?" Selina asked, making Faith open her eyes and smile at her.

"Hey Kit." Faith replied as she sat up and got off the bed. Looking up, she saw that Diana was glaring at her from the door of the room. "Watch your uncle Xander for me, okay." she said as she ran her hand through the little girls hair and walked outside to the older woman.

"I talked to the doctor and he said that Xander should wake up in another day or two." Diana informed her, making her breathe out a sigh of relief. "Now what the hell happened? Did you do this to him?"

"You know about me being..."

"Xander told me about it before he left the house." she cut him off. "Now answer the damn question." she said in a whisper. "Did you do this to him?" Faith's guilty look as she bowed her head in shame, was answer enough for her.

"When, Xand...when my brother wakes up, tell him I said I was sorry." Faith said as she met her gaze again. "Tell him that I'll never bother him again."

"So that's it?" Diana asked as she grabbed Faith's arm. "You're just gonna skip town and leave us to clean up your mess?"

"Trust me it's the best way." Faith said with a grimace. 'Maybe that's part of the reason dad sent me away.' Faith mused. 'Maybe he knew I was prone to trouble.'

"That's bullshit." Diana said tightning her grip on Faith's arm. "We're a family Faith. If one of us messes up we all try to fix it. We don't just run away from our problems."

"But..."

"No but's." Diana cut her off. "I've never seen Selina smile so much, after she lost her father. No matter what me and Xander do, she never smiles that way for anybody but you. You're her aunt Faith and she loves and looks up to you. And everytime Xander talks about you, whether it's something good or bad, he can't help but smile."

"Mom come quick." Selina said excitedly as she peeked her head out of the door. "Uncle Xander just woke up."

"I'll be there in a minute honey." Diana said as she smiled down at her. "So?" she asked as she turned back to Faith.

"I'll be back. I just have to make a phone call." waiting until the older woman walked back into the room, Faith took a cellphone out of her back jeans pocket and stared at it. Deciding the hell with it, she hit the speed dial on it. "Hello dad..." she said into the phone. "Yeah, I'm okay now listen, we have to talk."

A/N I personally wanted to thank each and everyone of you for reading this fic. Finally one of my fanfics has reached past two hundred reviews. Thank all of you for that. Also to clarify something, Xander didn't pass out because of what Faith did to him. It was a combination of what she did to him and because what happened last week when he was fighting those demons in that alley. Also I didn't want to go with the whole big brother being better than the little sister routine. That's getting old and I decided to do something new.

TBC...

Please Review...


	20. Chapter 19 The Missing Wayne pt1

A/N I personally wanna dedicate this chapter to a hopefully new friend of mine named Eduardo aka Baggo. Thanks for helping me out man, I really appreciate it.

Also thanks for all of the reviews, now to answer some questions. To Anthony1, firstly thanks for your review and to answer your question. Slade was a last minute thought to add to the fanfic. As of right now, I'm not sure if he's gonna be in any future chapters. That's why I'm hoping that after I'm done with this fanfic, that someone will continue it and add him into the story as a villian.

To screaminheathen69, I actually originally planned in the beginning of this fanfic for Xander/Batman and Angel to meet. Basically Batman was gonna end up slaying Angel and I didn't want that to happen. I just couldn't realistically see Angel existing in the same town as Batman without getting slain, so I opted for him to leave. But don't worry, I have a few surprises yet. Also thanks to Kurama, don't worry Xander will bounce back.

This takes place two weeks after chapter 18 and most of Xander's and Buffy's injuries have healed. So this is their first night back as the dark knight and the slayer.

Chapter 19

The Missing Wayne pt. 1

Restfield Cemetery

Night

Ducking under a lunge, Buffy came up with three rapid fire punches that rocked her opponent back. Doing a quick spin, she took out her stake and stabbed it through it's unprotected heart. Scanning the night for her friends, her eyes widened as she saw a vampire sneaking up behind her red headed friend.

"Willow watch out!"

Turning Willow back-pedalled as a vampire lunged at her, only for Faith to tackle it in mid-air.

Blocking a high punch from her assailant, she grabbed onto his shoulder and flipped him forward, making him land hard on his back. Flipping back to it's feet the vampire staggered backward into a lamppost from the force of Faith's next punch. Doing a full spin toward him, she jammed her stake home, and the demon burst into ashes.

"Ummm, thanks." Willow told her ackwardly.

"No problem, Red." Faith replied with a smirk as she looked over and saw Buffy and Jesse, still fighting some vamps. "Now let's go help..." suddenly both of them heard a deep demonic growl behind them.

Turning they both took a step back as they saw a huge red demon, with horns behind them. As it let out another, earth shaking growl from it's lipless mouth, a batarang was suddenly embedded in it's forehead, sending out a spray of crimson blood. Wobbling on unsteady legs, the thing fell face first to the ground.

"You really should watch your backs." Batman commented from his position on top of a neighboring crypt. Hearing Jesse grunt, he turned and flew off of the crypt to engage the rest of the enemy.

Little did they know but somebody was watching them from the shadows. Having seen enough, she stood to her feet and ran off into the night.

* * *

"I'm glad I didn't leave for the summer." Buffy commented as she led the group out of the cemetery. "Where are all these vamps coming from? I remember last summer in LA was quiet, when I got rid of the big bad."

"I bet you ten bucks, G-man will know." Faith told her as she opened the door to her brother's convertible.

"Ummm, Faith me and Jesse wanted to say something to you." Buffy said as she nervously ran a hand through her hair. "It's something, we've been thinking about for the last two weeks and I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Yeah, me and Buff accused you of being..."

"It's no sweat yo." Faith cut him off, as he Willow and Buffy got in the car. "Xander already told me about it and it's no big deal."

"But still..."

"Hey the way I see it he owes you the apology for yelling at you." Faith cut him off. "Now come on let's go and tell Giles about what happened tonight."

* * *

"So you've seen this giant bat and it did what exactly?" Wesley asked Kendra as she got done with her story. They had been to Sunnydale for almost five days and they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the bat the council warned them about. Until now.

"It saved a group of teeagers." Kendra told him as she stood in a military stance in the apartment.

"And what were a group of teenagers doing in the cemetery?"

"It seemed dat dey were patrolling." Kendra answered. "But dat's not all. Dare was dis one girl dare dat I felt a strange power from."

"Then perhaps she was a demon, of some sort, in human disguise." Wes figured as he wrote something down. "According to Mr. Giles' last report to the council, he recieved an annonymous tip that the mayor of this town was really a demon, before he was destroyed. So maybe the demons you encountered last night were trying to take over this area in his absense."

"So what about de bat?"

"I'll accompany you on patrol tomorrow night." her Watcher replied as he stood to his feet. "Hopefully we can slay it soon. Now get some rest, we have a busy day ahead of us."

The Next Night

Wayne Manor

"You sure you want to go out on patrol by yourself?" Faith asked as Xander played three keys on the grand piano, revealing the secret passage.

"Yeah, I think tonight'll be slow." he replied as they both entered the elevator.

"I was talking to B and Jess and I think you should stop being an asshole and apologize to them for what you said to them."

"Apologize? Apologize for what?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe for talking to them all crazy like a few weeks ago." Faith replied as she twirled a half of a heart necklace around her neck and stepped out of the elevator.

"What are you...oh." he said as it finally came to him. "I just don't like people talking about you like that. That's my job." he said as Faith slapped him on the back of the head, making him groan. "Alright, I'll talk to them tomorrow."

"About time you're seeing things my way." she replied as she sat down and propped her feet up on his desk.

"Are you still wearing that thing?" he asked as he noticed the necklace around her neck.

"I never took it off." Faith informed him as she stopped spinning it around in her fingers. "Hey where's your piece of it?"

"It was just the middle piece of it." he replied as he walked into the costume room. "I stopped wearing it because dad lied to us about getting her back."

"I don't think he lied to us about trying to find her. When dad makes a promise he tries to keep it."

"If you say so." Batman said as he walked out into the room. "Don't wait up."

Shadow Hill Cemetery

Batman nimbly hopped from crypt to crypt in search of demons. As he predicted the night was slow on demonic activities. Stopping on the last crypt in the cemetery, he was about to crouch down and over look the cemetery when he sensed something behind him. Turning, he was clotheslined hard, causing him to flip off of the crypt and land hard on his back.

Opening his eyes, from his position on the ground, he saw a beautiful black girl with long braided hair and a sword, jumping down from the crypt he was just on.

"Time to die, demon." the girl said in a thick jamaican accent as she lifted up her sword and pointed it at him.

'You wear a costume and suddenly everybody wants a piece of you.' Batman thought to himself as he flipped back to his feet. Thinking the girl was a vampire, he triggered a hidden stake from his wrist stake launcher.

Opening with a roundhouse kick at the vampire, she caught his leg right before it connected with her head. Using that to her advantage she dropped her sword, grabbed his shoulder, spun halfway around and threw him against a tall gravestone. Hitting the ground hard, he immediately started to get back up, only for her to kick him hard in the face. Kicking her away from him, he got up and heard her coming from behind him. Spinning his head around to see her, she swung her long sword in a wide arc and sliced off the tip of his stake. Jumping back in surprise and to avoid another swing, he popped off what was left of the stake and threw it to the ground.

Seeing that she was about to swing again, he high blocked the attack with his left arm guanlet, grabbed her arms and brought both of her arms down hard, forcing her to drop the sword. Using it to his advantage he high punched her in the head and tried to follow up with a double roundhouse kick with alternating legs. She knife-hand blocked both kicks and gaining the upper hand, grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to get to his neck, to snap it. Struggling to keep her at bay, he was unable to avoid a knee to the crotch from her, that sent him reeling back. Finally getting him on the ropes, she ran up behind him and thrust her stake into his back, making him howl in pain.

Standing fully erect, he back-handed her across the face, sending her tumbling back. Luckily for him the stake didn't go all the way through his body armor. Taking it out of his back, he reached into his utility belt and brought out a blade, that clicked into place forming a larger, sharper version of his batarang.

Seeing the weapon, the girl leapt into the air and pounced on him, sending them into a roll on the damp cemetery ground. As they stopped rolling, he ended up on top of her. As he was about to bring his weapon down on her, he looked at her neck and saw the other half of his sister's heart necklace. Looking at the girl harder, his eyes widened as he recognized who she was.

"Kendra?"

Flashback

Jamaica

1989, Night

"I can't believe Bruce brung us all to Jamaica." a seven year old Xander said to Faith as they walked out of the tall beach house and stood at the front door. They had rented it out for the weekend, in honor of Faith's birthday and Bruce told them to stand out front and wait on him so he could take them to the carnival. "He never took me to a place like this on my birthday." he said with a pout.

"It's not my fault daddy likes me better." Faith teased as she stuck a tongue out at him, causing Xander to lightly shove her. "Xander do you think he'll like what I bought him?" she asked as she dug into her pocket and handed him a necklace with a heart pendant on it, that had three different chains on it.

"Faith, you do know that this is your birthday right?" Xander asked with a smirk. "And you might want to get your money back because this thing is cracked."

"That's because it's breaks apart dumby." she growled as she took the necklace back and broke it apart, so that it was half of a heart and a little thin strip of an iron magnet, that served to hold them together. "It's just in case we ever get seperated. One heart goes to me, the other to dad and this for you." she said as she handed him the strip in the middle.

"Wow, lucky me." Xander said sarcastically as he excepted it. "Why do I get this dumb metal stick?"

"Because you hold all of us together." Faith replied lowly, causing Xander to hold his head down ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry." he said as he attempted to put the necklace on, only for it to slip through his fingers and fall through a crack in the porch. "I'll get it." Xander said as he ran down the steps and under the stilts of the house. "Faith! Faith, come quick." came his voice a moment later.

Running down the steps to see what was wrong, Faith saw her new brother leaning in a small boat that was under the stilts of the house, looking down at something.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Faith asked as she ran over to him. Looking down into the boat, she saw a skinny, pretty little black girl, probably around his age, laying unconcious inside the boat.

"Faith, get dad quick." Xander replied as he looked up at her, then back down at the little girl.

* * *

Eyes fluttering open, the little black girl looked up and saw a figure looming over her. As her eyes fully adjusted, she saw that it was a tall white man looking down at her with gentle eyes.

"You gave us a scare." Bruce said as he tried to help her up, only for her to flinch away from his touch. "Hey nobody's gonna hurt you." he said causing her to look around the room, where she saw a little boy and another little girl. "My name is Bruce, this is my daughter Faith and my son Alex. What's your name?"

"Ken...Kendra, sir." Kendra said shyly.

"Kendra, that's a pretty name." Bruce said as he sat down next to her on the bed. Feeling strangely safe with him around, she didn't move away. "Now Kendra, why were you under this house?" he asked only for her to not answer him. 'Okay, I'll try a different approach.'

"Where are your parents?"

"Dey gave me away." Kendra answered sadly.

"What?" Faith asked startled. She usually wasn't the type to show much emotion, but she struggled with herself not to walk over and hug Kendra.

"What do you mean they gave you away?" Bruce asked as he put her hand in his.

"Dey gave me away to someting called de Watcher's Council." Kendra said as a tear fell from her eye. "Some man came to our home to get me, so I ran away."

"You look so tired." Bruce commented as he gave her a look. "How long ago was it when you ran away?"

"I ran away from him a day ago."

"Xander, Faith...take Kendra into the kitchen and get her something to eat." Bruce said as he stood to his feet. "I have to make a few calls."

Four Hours Later

Kendra sat on the couch with her new friends watching tv. Bruce seemed to be a nice man that genuinely cared for her, so she knew that he couldn't have been with the Council. He had fed her, taken her too the carnival, given her some of his daughters clothes, and had allowed her to take a bath to freshen up.

There was something about her new friend Alex, or Xander as he liked to be called, that she really liked. Not only was he funny, but she also found him to be cute. As for Faith, she didn't know what to make of her because she seemed so protective and seemed to want to explain everything for her.

The more Bruce heard about the Council of Watchers, the less he liked. He had called Alfred to get him to check any record he could find of the Watcher's Council and he was surprised that the old butler already knew a pretty decent amount of information about them. Like for the fact that Kendra might one day grow up to be what was known as a Slayer.

But as Bruce looked over at the little girl, that's all he saw, a little girl. He felt that fate was playing a creul joke in having a little girl fight and lose her life fighting the forces of evil. If this Council was filled with men, then where were they in helping the Slayer fight? Why were they just sitting around and watching as another girl sat there and died.

Suddenly somebody knocked on the door, snapping him out of his reverie. Standing up off of the bed, he watched as his children ushered Kendra out of the room, before he answered the door. As he did so, he saw a nervous skinny blackman, wearing all tweed standing on the other side of the door.

"My name is Sam Zabuto." the man said panting heavily. "And I'm looking for a little girl, this is a picture of her." he said as he took out a small photograph of Kendra and handed it to Bruce.

"I'm sorry Mr...Zabuto is it?" Bruce asked as he examined the picture. "But I haven't seen her."

'Damn.' Zabuto thought to himself. 'I did a locater spell and it led me here. I was so sure that..."

"Dad!" Faith yelled out as she ran into the room, not seeing Mr. Zabuto. "Kendra ran away." giving Bruce a disgusted look, Zabuto turned on his heel and ran down the stairs to see if he could catch up to his young charge.

"Damnit!" Bruce yelled in frustration as he closed the door. "Faith, what happened? How did she get away?"

"She said she had to use the bathroom, but she was gone for a long time. I went to check on her and the bathroom window was open." Faith informed him as Xander walked into the room.

"I have to go and find her." Bruce said as he slipped on some shoes. As he was about to open the door and walk out, he suddenly looked back at his children. He couldn't just leave them behind. "Come on."

* * *

Kendra ran with tears in her eyes and until her little legs were about to give out. Stopping, she took in her surroundings and saw that she ran into a dark alley. Sitting down on a nearby metal trashcan, she thought about her situation.

She had trusted Bruce and he had betrayed her. She thought that he was really going to be her friend, but he led Mr. Zabuto right to her. 'But maybe he didn't.' she questioned her ownself. Hearing a rattling of cans further down the alley, she stood to her feet and was about to run, until she bumped into somebody. Looking up she saw that it was, Mr. Zabuto and she screamed.

Little did she know but somebody heard her scream and started to run in her direction.

"Why did you run away child?" Zabuto asked as he grabbed Kendra's arm so she wouldn't run. "Don't you understand how important you are?"

"She might not understand." a cold voice said behind them. "But I do. She's important to us to be our snack." a vampire said as he and two other vampires emerged out of the shadows, wearing game faces. "And guess what? You're our main course."

"Kendra, quickly get behind me." Zabuto said as he shoved her behind him and took out a stake. Just at the same time, Bruce and the others looked down the alley.

"Stay here." Bruce ordered of his children as he ran down the alley to help. Seeing that Zabuto was taking on all three vampires and losing, he quickly ran behind Kendra, directed her to run down the alley towards his children and ran to help Mr. Zabuto.

Zabuto had managed to stake one vampire, but the other two were holding him down and drinking him dry. Ripping the first one off of the Watcher's arm, Bruce quickly shot out a viscious side kick that sent the demon stumbling back. Seeing his friend being attacked, the vampire that was biting on Mr. Zabuto stopped and ran over to attack Bruce.

Feeling someone coming up behind him, Bruce spun around and did a leg sweep on the approaching vampire. With a rainbow kick to the one behind him, he jumped into a roll and scooped up the stake that Zabuto, had dropped earlier. As one of the vamps jumped into a lunge, Bruce brought the stake up and stabbed him in his unprotected heart. As he crumbled into ash, a fist came out of the dust cloud and hit Bruce in the jaw sending him stumbling back. Blocking three punches and a spinkick, Bruce did a front tuck over the vampires head and stabbed him through the back, sending him to join his friends.

Remembering Mr. Zabuto, he turned and saw that he was still on his knees. Running up to him, he was about to pitch forward and fall flat on his face, until Bruce caught him in his arms.

"Hold on." Bruce said as he settled him down on the pavement. "You're gonna make it."

"No..." Zabuto answered back as he looked up at Bruce. "Find her...find her a good home." were his final words as he let out a final shudder and stopped breathing. Letting out a deep breath, Bruce reached forward and closed Zabuto's eyes.

"Is he dead?" Faith asked as she and the others walked down the alley. As Bruce heard her voice it reminded him of Xander's question to him, only a year ago.

"Faith no... all of you get back." Bruce said as he ushered them away from the body. Seeing Kendra about to run away again he called out to her. "Where are you running too?" he asked, making her stop dead in her tracks. "You can't keep running forever, you have to face your fears."

"I...I can't." she told him as she turned around. All she wanted to do was go home and be with her family, but they seemed like they didn't want her.

"You can." Bruce said as he took a step towards her, only for her to take a step back. "Let us be your family Kendra. I'll take care of you."

"Yeah, I always wanted a sis." Faith said giving her a friendly smile.

"Come here sweetheart we're not gonna hurt you." Bruce said as he squatted down with his arms opened wide. To his surprise Kendra ran willingly into his arms and allowed him to pick her up. "Well it looks like you guys are gonna have a new sis..."

"Hold it right there!" a british sounding voice said from behind him. Turning, he saw three armed men coming out of the shadows. "Release the girl at once."

"Dad, what's going on?" Faith asked as she looked up at her father. He had a look on his face that seemed to be full of rage. It was a look that would scare her for the rest of her life.

"On what grounds?" Bruce asked the lead man lowly, as he clutched onto Kendra tighter.

"Because she's the property of the Watcher's Council." he said as he hefted up his machine gun.

"Property..."

"He's dead." another one of the Council's wet works team members said as he examined Mr. Zabuto. "The poor bugger was sucked dry by a vampire."

"Was he turned?" the lead man asked, not taking his eyes off of Bruce.

"No. I don't see any blood in his mouth."

"Then throw him in the back of the truck. And you, hand over the girl."

"Not without a figh..."

"No." Kendra's little voice stopped everybody cold. She felt that if Bruce resisted, then those men would kill him without a second thought.

"What?" Bruce asked as he looked at her.

"I...I have to face me fears." with that said, Bruce reluctantly sat her down and watched as the Council men started to take her out of the alley.

"Dad do something." Xander pleaded as he looked up at the older man.

"I..."

"Wait!" Faith shouted out as she ran forward to Kendra.

"Get back you little..."

"I just wanted to give her this." Faith said to the mercenary as she handed Kendra the other half of her heart necklace that she was going to give to Bruce. "Bye."

"Goodbye, Faith." Kendra said as the mercenaries started to drag her off. Looking back at her would be family, she rememered all of their faces. Especially Bruce's and his gentle eyes.

End Flashback

"Kendra?" Batman asked in disbelief as he dropped his curved knife. Looking at the demon curiously, Kendra punched him in the face and kicked him in the small of his back. Getting to her feet, she put some distance between herself and the bat.

"How did you know me name?" Kendra asked as she stood in a defensive position.

"Because..."

"Kendra let's get out of this place." Wesley said as he grabbed her arm.

"But..."

"Just trust me, now come along." never taking her eyes off of the bat, Kendra and Wesley dissappeared out of the graveyard, leaving Batman in a daze.

Wesley's Apartment

"I don't mean to question your decision sir." Kendra said as she paced around her Watcher. "But why did you pull me away from de fight? I could have killed dat ting."

"Don't be so certain." Wes said as he turned around with a book in hand. "I think I've determined what kind of bat demon that was. It's called a kliptos-notis, it's a very rare bat demon and it says here that it has the ability to hypnotize it's victims and read minds." he said as he showed her the picture of it. She had to admit that it looked similar to what she saw in the book, but there was still something wrong.

"I still don't know, sir." Kendra said doubtfully.

"Well how else could it have known your name?"

"I don't understand it but...someting about his voice sounded familiar." she said as she looked out of the window, twirled the heart necklace around her neck, and up at the full moon.

Batcave

Sametime

Faith watched as the Tumbler jumped up and into the batcave, settling into a vast amount of water. As Batman jumped out of the car, he immediately threw his cowl to the floor and ran up the stairs that led to the main computer.

"Damn bro what's the matter with you?" Faith as ked as she looked at her brothers face. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." Ignoring what his sister was saying, he started typing into the batcomputer until Bruce's face showed up on the wide screen.

"Xander what is it?" Bruce asked, sort of irritated. "I have to get to a meeting in..."

"Dad it's Kendra." Xander interrupted. "I saw her today."

"I'll be in Sunnydale by the end of the week." Bruce said with a frown as he severed the communication's. It seemed that he had to visit Quinton Traver's and the Council once again.

A/N Next up, Bruce reunites with Kendra and speaking of which, you'll find out the history Bruce has with the council and his past via flashback.

TBC...

Please Review...

To aris.gor As far as Slade goes it wasn't really a point of seeing them fight for his personal pleasure. It was a ploy to see Xander's abilities just in case one day he could try to manipulate him. I deleted a scene in which Slade talked to himself about Xander and the future plans he had for him. It's only because I hope that someone else will pick up this fic and use Slade as a future villian. As far as him training, manipulating Faith I'll let another authour worry about an explaination for that, if and when someone does a sequel. I'm just not going that direction with the story.

And pro or not, Slade would do something like that regardless, because like I said when I use comic book characters I try to use what I see in the comics and on tv. And what I remember is an episode of teen titans he made robin go against his friends, when he made robin be his apprentice.

As far as Faith/Catwoman, I tried to combine both of their personalities. On the show, Faith had been used her whole life, which I thought would be a valid reason for her to be easily manipulated, whether she's independent or not, the manipulaters still kept her on a short leash. She was used her mother/Some abuser, the council, Gwendolyn Post, and the Mayor. Since I want have her join with the council at all, I wanted her character to be manipulated by an outside force. Slade. So that was my motivation to use him. Now that she's free, or so she thinks, she can be as independent as she wants.


	21. Chapter 20 The Missing Wayne pt2

A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. To Anthony1, I'm glad you still like the story and Wesley will be a combination of the badass Wesley from Angel and the wuss from Buffy.

Thanks for the review Kuramalovergirl

To BAKAMAN, no Slade isn't behind the force about to take over. Don't just think in terms of Sunnydale because this thing wants to take over the whole world.

To Dilvish, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And you'll see what Travers thinks of the Bat family and who he's really working for.

Chapter 20

The Missing Wayne pt. 2

"What the hell do you mean you saw, Kendra today?" Faith asked as Xander shut off the computer and sat down next to her.

"It was insane we almost killed each other." Xander replied with a wince. He was hurting all over.

"So you two weren't playing charades?"

"Faith this is serious." Xander replied, giving her a look. "Something was wrong with her. She was fast, super strong, and there was just this strange look in her eyes."

"So you think that she was a vampire?" Faith asked as he stood up and walked to the costume room to change into his regular clothes.

"I don't know." came his voice from the shadows. "She never vamped out and now that you mention it, she kinda looked like Buffy when she's in slay mode."

"Well maybe she's the opposite of a vampire." Faith figured as she thought about a few things.

"What's the opposite of a vampire?" he asked as he walked into the room wearing jeans and a black shirt.

"A Slayer." she replied as she met his gaze.

"She can't be a Slayer, I mean Buffy..."

"Is still alive." Faith cut him off. "But she died at the hospital remember? What if she died long enough to activate another Slayer."

"We might be getting a little ahead of ourselves." Xander replied with a yawn. "Let's talk to the G-man about it tomorrow and see if he's heard anything."

"Isn't he out of town for a few days?"

"Damn, I forgot about that. We'll just get in contact with him whenever he checks in."

Two Days Later

London, England

The Watcher's Council

Quintin Travers sat down heavily as the last of his Watcher's left out of the meeting room. It seemed his plan to keep Kendra a secret from them was working and only he and Wesley knew about her.

Pouring himself some scotch in a small glass, he didn't notice a shadow slip into the room, even as it dropped inexplicably behind him, from the ceiling. Reaching around Travers, Batman grabbed him around the lapels and lifted him off of his feet.

"You scream for help or say something I don't like, I'll toss you out of the window." Batman said as he glanced over at the large open window. "We're on the top floor and believe me it's a long way down."

"Ahh...Mr. Wayne." Travers squirmed in his grasp. "To what do I owe...the pleasure of seeing you again?"

"You know what I want."

Flashback

The Watcher's Council

1989

"So we're at an agreement, Mr. Thompson?" Travers asked an older white man with graying hair. It was unfortunate that Mr. Zabuto had died, because they had served in the field together, but business had to go on and Kendra needed a new Watcher.

"Yes sir, I'll be happy too...Ahhh! A giant bat." the old Watcher said as he looked up to the ceiling and saw a black apparition above them.

Letting go of the ceiling, Batman landed gracefully on the table in a crouch and stared hard at Quintin Travers. And to the head of the council's credit, he didn't even flinch from the look of cold hatred Batman gave him. Standing to his feet, Mr Thompson attempted to run out of the room, only to find a black ball that landed at his feet. Looking at it curiously, it emitted a cloud of gas that made him fall unconcious to the floor.

"There was a little girl taken from Jamaica and..."

"I see Ra's Al Ghul was right about you, Mr. Wayne." Travers said calmly as Batman stood up from his crouch. "You really have a gift for theatrics."

"How did you know..."

"Who you are?" Travers asked with a smile as he stood to his feet, walked over to a little table, and poured himself some tea. "Come now Mr. Wayne did you really think that Ra's Al Ghul and his cronies were the only chapter of the League of Shadows? No my friend the league goes farther then you can even imagine."

"How far?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Quintin commented as he sat back down in his chair and sipped his tea. "Don't worry Bruce, I wouldn't dream of exposing your identity, because you're needed. I would actually like to say thank you for...getting rid of Ra's. He was a wild card that needed to be eliminated."

"If you really wanted to thank me, then give me the girl."

"Oh, yes Kendra Ann Young. I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, but I can't turn her over to your custody. She and every other potential Slayer are the property of the Council."

"She's not a damn sunday morning dress!" Batman growled out as he picked Quintin up by the neck. "Kendra's a little girl that needs a home."

"And she...she has it with the Council." Travers gasped out. "And if I were you, I would worry about your own children."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Batman asked as he tightened his grip.

"It means that...that if...if you don't stay out of Council business then I'll have your children killed." the Council head replied as Batman loosened his grip. "Yes Mr. Wayne I know about your children Alexander and Faith."

'Damnit.' Batman thought to himself as he walked over to the window. He wanted to get Kendra, but he couldn't risk the lives of his children.

"Oh, don't go, Mr. Wayne. Stay for a spot of tea." Travers said causing Batman to literally growl.

"I only want to know one thing, you old windbag." Batman said as he hopped on the window ledge in a crouch. "Is Kendra alright?"

"But of course, she's with the Council remember?"

"One last thing, Travers. I'll be back for my daughter one day." he said as he jumped out of the window, dissappearing into the night.

"I'm counting on it." Travers said lowly into the wind, as he took a sip of tea and sat back down.

End Flashback

"You want, Miss Kendra am I correct?" Quintin asked as Batman sat him back down, hard in his seat.

"I already know that she's in Sunnydale." Batman replied as he paced around the old man. "My question is why?"

"To slay demons of course." Travers replied as he took a sip of tea. "One Slayer has died, now another must take her place."

'Interesting. He doesn't know that Buffy's alive.'

"Of course she's also there to get rid of a giant bat problem."

"You set her up too..."

"Kill your son. Yes, she thinks that he's a demon. You know it's funny how a Slayer will believe anything that the Council tells her."

"No, what I find funny is how much you seem to know about me."

"Well, Mr. Wayne I have an entire team devoted to knowing about your life. More importantly about the Batman's life."

"I thought you would say something like that." Batman said as he reached into his utility belt and tossed a scroll of paper on the table. "That's why I've conducted a little research on you, of my own."

"What is the meaning of this!" Quinton asked in outrage as he read off his offences. It seemed like every bad or unseemly thing he had ever done Batman knew about. "How did you find this out about me?"

"I'm a detective. It's my job to detect things." Batman replied with a smug smile. "I wouldn't dare try to uproot your precious Council because it's needed, but you however are expendable. Not even your resources will be able to keep you out of jail. And if you think you can kill me so I want talk, think again. The moment it's found that I'm dead or missing that list of what you've done will be sent to every branch of british government."

'You stupid...' "Name your terms." Travers said outwardly. Leaning in Batman told him what he wanted him to know, before walking over to the window.

"Before I leave there are two more things I wanted to talk to you about." Batman said as he jumped on the window seal. "The first thing is you really should look into getting better security."

"And the second?" Quintin dared to ask.

"The second thing is stay out of bat business." Batman replied as he jumped out of the window, allowing the night to swallow him.

"So I see he fell for my ruse?" ?/Cloak asked as she materialized into the room.

"Hook, line, and sinker." Travers replied as he gathered himself back together. "I just wish that you would tell me what your plans are."

"That's for me alone to know." ? commented as she looked over Travers shoulders and onto the scroll Batman had given him. "You truly are a very disgusting man." she informed him as she read some of the things he had done.

Giles Apartment

Days Later

"I've, I've called Quintin Travers and he has confirmed that there is indeed another, Slayer." Giles said as he walked into his living room, carrying a silver platter of tea and cookies. Before he could even sit down, the entire Scooby Gang started to devour what he had.

"Me and Xand have been trying to find her all week." Faith said as she grabbed a hand full of cookies.

"And you want find her." a voice said making them all jump.

"Batman?" Giles asked as he looked up and saw him walking through the front door.

"You really should start locking your door, Mr. Giles."

"What did you mean by we wouldn't find her?" Buffy asked.

"Because she was specifically ordered to kill the Batman of Sunnydale, so she's not going to be out trying to kill regular demons."

"How would you know something like that?" Giles asked curiously.

"Let's just say that me and Quintin Travers have an assorted history." The Dark Knight replied as he turned to leave the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Faith asked as she stood to her feet.

"I'm going to prepare myself, Miss Wayne." Batman said as he opened the door. "If the Slayer wants a bat demon then, I'm going to give it to her."

As soon as Batman walked out of the room, Buffy silently stepped to her feet and walked out herself. Giving each other curious glances at Buffy's sad looks, Xander stood to his feet and followed her.

"Hey, Buff." Xander said as he put his hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She didn't really go any further than the front gate and all she did was look up at the son.

"Oh, Xander it's just you." Buffy said as she turned around to look at him.

"You look sad for some reason. Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, I was just thinking about something." Buffy said trying to clear her head. "Xander can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why does it seem like you know this new Slayer?"

"Because, I do." he replied thinking of memories past. "We met the day after she was supposed to be taken by the Watcher's Council. We didn't know it at the time but me and Faith had seen our first vampire that night and it attacked Kendra and her Watcher. Dad got Kendra away safely but her Watcher didn't make it."

"Oh, my God. Why didn't your dad take Kendra with you guys?"

"Believe me, my dad tried. Kendra should have been brought up as a Wayne but as soon as we were about to leave, some goons from the Council came and took her. They would have killed us all if we didn't hand over Kendra, so my dad didn't have much of a choice."

"That's the saddest story, I've ever heard."

"Yeah." Xander said with a sad smile. "Now Buffy, what's really bothering you? It's just not like you to be so quiet."

Letting out a sigh, Buffy began to explain to him how she felt. It wasn't that she was feeling that Kendra was going to take her place as Slayer, but rather everytime she would see the new Slayer, she would serve as a reminder that she died.

"Well, I can say this with perfect clarity Buff." Xander said as he pulled her into a hug. "Nobody can replace you and you'll always be the Slayer to me."

Wayne Manor

Later That Day

"Uncle Xander, Grandpa is here!" Selina yelled happily as Xander and Faith walked in through the front door.

"I already know babe." Xander said as he picked her up into his arms. "Now where is he?"

As Faith and Xander entered his bedroom, they saw Bruce softly snoring on the bed. Not wanting to disturb him, they were about to leave, until Bruce sat up.

"What took you kids so long to get home?" Bruce asked with a yawn as he got up out of bed.

"We were getting the Bronze together for a party." Xander informed his father as he handed him a plate of food.

"A party?" Bruce asked increduously as he dug into the food. He hadn't eaten in a day and a half and flying in the batjet for days at a time, from England to California, wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world.

"Yeah, it's going to be a home coming party for Kendra." Xander replied, making Bruce smile.

"I think she'd like that. But I want you kids to realize that you have to take it slow with Kendra." Bruce warned. "She didn't have a normal childhood, so she want understand certain things."

"That is if she even wants to join our family." Faith said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The way we let those goons take her away, she probably thought that we forgot about her."

"I'll find that out tonight." her father replied as he sat his empty plate down on the dresser and yawned again.

"Come on Faith, let's let dad get some sleep." Xander said as he grabbed his sister's arm and led her out of the room.

Restfield Cemetery

Night

Kendra moved stealthfully through the dark graveyard, ducking and weaving behind bushes and grave markers. When she had awoken that morning, her Watcher had found a note on their apartment door, from the bat demon telling her to meet up with it at this cemetery. She knew that it was a trap, so her Watcher was lurking in the shadows just in case something got hairy.

Spotting the acursed demon ten feet ahead of her, with his back turned, in front of a mausoleum she hefted up her sword and prepared to bring it down on him until it spoke.

"You're even more beautiful then I imagined you to be." it said in a distinctly familiar voice as it turned around. And as Kendra looked into it's gentle eyes, she dropped her sword as she realized who it was.

"Bruce?" she asked as he grabbed her around the waist. As Wesley ran out of the shadows yelling her name, Batman fired off a grappling hook line and flew away as the batjet lifted them up and into the night.

Batcave

Minutes Later

"I always wanted to come and get you." Bruce explained as he walked out of the costume room wearing a tuxedo. He had already explained to Kendra what led him up to being the Batman, but he still wanted her to understand more then that. He wanted her to understand that she was needed to complete his family.

"It was probably best if you didn't." Kendra replied as she stood up from the batcomputer. "I was taught dat family, friends, and school distract from me calling."

"Kendra that's nonsense." Bruce said as he took her hands in his. "Some nights the only thing that kept me going as Batman was thinking about you kids."

"Except me." Kendra muttered to herself, as she looked down.

"Including you." Bruce replied as he made her look up at him. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet and handed her a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it she saw that it was actually a photo booth picture of her, Bruce, Alex, and Faith more then seven years ago. "Do you remember when that picture was taken?"

"From de carnival." Kendra said as she looked up at him with a smile. "It was de best time, I've had in me life."

"Do you realize that I've carried that picture with me, every since that day?" he asked. "I've never stopped thinking about you. Sometimes I layed awake at night, thinking about how you were doing."

"What do you want from me?" Kendra asked as she handed him the picture back.

"I want you to complete my...our family Kendra. I know all about that crap that the Council has been telling you too." Bruce informed her. "But you have something that all of those other Slayer's never had."

"What's dat?"

"A family. Something that the Slayer can have that makes life worth living." he said as he leaned up against the cave wall. "You see Kendra it's all about control and power with the Council. It's better for them that a Slayer dies young, so that she want realize how much power she has. That way they have a fresh generation of girls they can control."

"How do you know all of dese tings?"

"Let's just say that I have my sources." Bruce said with a gentle smile. "Kendra, I swear to you that you're gonna have a long healthy life. Even if I have to kill half the population of California to pull it off." he said causing both of them to chuckle. "So I just want to know from you. Do you want to be a Wayne?"

"Can..can I tink about it?"

"Yeah, oh and hey that reminds me." Bruce said as he reached into his jacket pocket. "I set up an account for you three days after we met. I've been playing in the stock and investing in your account over the years and it's worth over ten million dollars." Bruce said as he handed her the bank draft booklet. Kendra smiled to herself as she read the name on the book.

"Kendra Wayne."

"Come on we have a party to attend." Bruce said as he extended his arm.

"But what about me Watcher and de Council?" Kendra asked as she took his arm.

"Let me worry about them." he replied as he led them out of the batcave.

Restfield Cemetery

Wesley walked aimlessly through the cemetery in search of a clue to find Kendra. Even though it had been thirty minutes since she dissappeared he still felt...oh who was he kidding, he was afraid to phone the Council and tell them that he had lost his Slayer. Even more importantly he didn't want his father to find out and gloat about it. Roger Wyndam-Pryce had told him, even as a little boy that he would grow up to be a failure. Suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Kendra?" he asked as he turned around, only to see a man wearing a tuxedo.

"No, Bruce Wayne." the man replied as he extended his hand to shake his. "And I'm actually here to talk about Kendra."

"Is she al..."

"She's doing just fine." Bruce cut him off. "I'm just here to inform you of a few things. Firstly you no longer work for the Watcher's Council, you work for me now. Secondly Kendra is now and will forever be my daughter..."

"Now see here." Wesley started only for Bruce to grab him by the lapels of his suit.

"No you see here!" Bruce exploded as he lifted the man off of his feet. "I'm only allowing you to be Kendra's Watcher. I've already worked it out with Travers and you will no longer report anything to him, but only to me unless I say otherwise. And like I said Kendra is my daughter, so I'm holding you personally reponsible for her well being. So if anything...and I mean anything happens to her, the same will happen to you. Do you understand me?"

"Quite." Wesley said with wide eyes, as Bruce set him back down to his feet.

"I'm glad we could come to this understanding." Bruce said as he straigtened Wesley's tie and put a business card in his jacket pocket. "Good night Mr. Wyndam-Pryce." he said leaving a bewildered Wesley standing in the middle of the graveyard.

"What did me, Watcher say?" Kendra asked as Bruce got back into the limo.

"He was happy with the decision that you made." Bruce lied. "Driver to the Bronze."

* * *

With his hands covering Kendra's eyes, he led her into the Bronze. As soon as the occupants saw them enter the room, they sprang up from their positions and yelled together.

"SURPRISE!"

"What is dis?" Kendra asked, as Bruce released his hands and allowed her to scan the room. She saw balloons, food, people she didn't know (the Scooby Gang), a band called Dingoes Ate My Baby playing on stage, and a huge topper that read Welcome Home Kendra Wayne.

"It's a surprise party for your homecoming." Xander said as he and Faith walked up to her.

"Hey sis." Faith said with a smile as she walked over and gave her a hug. Xander right behind her. Caught off guard by the contact, she ackwardly hugged them back. Bruce stood back and just watched his children talk and interact.

"Wow are all, Slayer's babes?" Jesse asked from across the room as Buffy and Willow slapped him on the back of the head. "Ow! It was just a question."

"Come on, let's meet the new gal." Buffy suggested as she moved forward, only for Giles to block her path.

"I, I, think that we should hold off on that until later." Giles said with an even smile. "According to Xander, they haven't seen each other in a very long time. I think it would be prudent to let them have some alone time."

"Why does Xander get to have all the fun?" Jesse asked with a pout as he watched them dancing.

"Come on you big baby." Willow said as she took his hand and led him to the dance floor. Buffy couldn't help but feel a little jealous because she didn't have anybody, but looking over at Xander...maybe soon she would change her mind on that.

"Grandpa." Selina said, snapping Bruce out of his musings. "Is she my new aunt?" she asked as she pointed at Kendra. Before he could answer his phone started to ring in his pocket.

"Yeah." Bruce replied as he took the cellphone out of his pocket. "Go and say hello to her." as he moved over to the corner away from the others, he looked on the video display of the cellphone and saw Alfred's face.

"From the look on your face, Master Bruce am I to assume that your mission was a success?"

"Yes." Bruce told him as he looked up and saw Faith trying to make Kendra loosen up and dance. "My family is finally together. I should be back in Gotham by tomorrow night."

"Very good, sir." Alfred said as he hid a smile of his own. He knew Bruce had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "Do you want me to get your publisher together and announce Miss Kendra as being a Wayne?"

"No not yet." Bruce said as he again looked at his daughter. "Not until she's ready. Alfred I can't just help but feel that our lives are finally going for the better."

Oxnard

Sametime

A Two Days Drive From Sunnydale

A woman covered in blood scrambled out of a gas station with wide eyes. Falling to the ground, because of the sound of her friends last screams and the blood on the bottom of her shoes, she stood to her feet once again and ran into the night.

"That was fun." Spike said from inside the gas station, as he let the body drop of the the woman he was draining hit the floor.

Wiping the blood off his mouth with the sleeze of his leather duster, he looked over at his companion who was busy counting bodies on the floor. For some reason she was leading them across the country, killing people at random. Not to say that it wasn't fun, but he still wanted to know what the point of the whole thing was.

"Where to now, ducks?"

"Oh, Spike the journey isn't far now." Drusilla said as she stood to her feet and started to sway. "Our Dark Knight is ready for us now. We must go to him and be his new mummy and daddy."

"What ever you say, luv." Spike replied as he gave her a look. Drusilla could be so wierd at times.

A/N To anybody wondering, no Wesley doesn't know and want find out that Bruce is really Batman. Also Kendra doesn't know that she no longer works for the Council and Wesley want be telling anything. Also Kendra's second Watcher retired and for the last two years Wesley has been her Watcher.

As for the Council themselves they are affiliated with the League of Shadows, but only people who become the Council head actually know that. Every other member of the Council are just lackey's.

TBC...

Please Review...


	22. Chapter 21 Night Of The Creeper

A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. This is just a filler episode and is a crossover with the movie Jeepers Creepers. I've also took a few liberty's with the story. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks to my new reviewer WBH21C, I'm glad you like the story. Thanks screaminheathen69, Kuramalovergirl, and X-Over.

To Anthony1, this chapter should answer the last question you had about the story. And Angel want be in this story, especially seeing that there's only about two or three chapters left. He just wouldn't fit into the story well.

And to J, I hate to sound harsh but this is my story and I decide what's best for it. The reason I made Kendra a Wayne is because it plays a big part in a later storyline. And she will be the last family member to join the bat clan, in that time frame anyway. I wouldn't do anything too overboard and you have to remember that about me, I like to set up events so that they play a part in later series. Plus it's not really creative if I have to do everything DC, Marvel, or Joss does. I like to do my own thing. Plus, this is my universe combined with DC and the Jossverse, so things are gonna be different anyway.

One more thing, somebody asked if the first season was going to be the only thing I was going to cover in this fanfic. Well the answer is yes. I hate extremely long fanfics and I lose interest in them if they go on too long. However I will do a special halloween episode for season two for this fic, but It will be a seperate fic from this one. So be looking for that.

Anyway enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 21

Night of the Creeper

LA

Night

Shaking with fear, a brunette haired teen boy and teen girl ran down a dark and narrow alley. Even though they couldn't see there pursuer, they could still hear the excessive flapping of it's wings. The two had been running all day from the winged demon and everywhere they went for help, they only ended up bringing death and destruction to their door steps.

And what made it so bad was that they could only see glimpses of their attacker. At first glance he seemed to be an old man, wearing a ragged old duster and an even older, dirtier cowboy hat. But as he would continue to get closer to them, they saw that he was some kind of reptillian demon and later that it had wings. Stopping to catch their breath's, the boy looked over at the girl.

"What the hell are we going to do now, Trish?" he asked, trying to take in some air into his lungs. 'God, I wish we never came to this city.' he thought to himself.

"I don't know Darry, maybe keep running for our lives." she replied sarcastically to her little brother, with tired eyes as she leaned up against a wall. Running a hand through her long brown hair, she looked up at him and sighed. "Listen Darry, I'm sorry. Maybe we should just..."

"Shhh..." he said putting his finger to his lips, while grabbing her by the arm. "I think he's gone."

"Why would he give up this easily, Darry? He's been following us all day."

"Exactly. He's been after us all day." Darry replied as he nervously looked around. "Maybe he gave up, because he couldn't catch us."

"Darry..."

"Sis, come on." he said looking at her in the eyes. "I don't want for us to die down some dark and shit smelling alley."

"Alright." Trish said as she gently squeezed her brother's hand. He had a point and he was right, she didn't hear the demon anymore, so maybe he had given up on them. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Taking the lead, she ran down the face of the alley and stopped at the entrance. Her eyes going wide at what she saw.

"Trish, why the hell did you stop run..." Darry stopped talking, as his eyes went wide as he saw the creeper standing right in front of them. It smiled at them, because it smelled their fear, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth.

"Fuck..." was all she could get out as the Creeper reached for her...only for Darry to jump in the way and get grabbed instead.

For a moment they shared brotherly-sisterly eye contact. Both of their lives flashed before their eyes and they saw all the teasing and even all the good times they had with each other, but nothing compared to the act of love he was showing as he mouthed one word to her. "Run." Not knowing what to do, she looked around for a weapon to use and then into his eyes once more and saw fear, but also something else. Love. Knowing that she was wrong, she turned and ran down the opposite end of the alley, her brother's screams echoing in her ears as she went.

The Next Day

Sending out a rainbow kick, Kendra just managed to avoid a backhand by her opponent. Sliding easily under a high kick, she dropped to the floor and did a leg sweep that sent her assailant sprawling to the ground.

"You have a near flawless form." Kendra said as she reached down and helped Buffy off of the dojo room floor. Both of them were wearing matching white karate uniforms. "Although your blocking and evading skills are a bit sloppy."

"Is that what you think?" Buffy asked as she got into a fighting stance. "You got the moves, I'll give you that." Buffy said as they started to circle one another. "But you don't have any imagination."

"Is dat right?" Kendra asked as she started to clinch, then unclinch her fist.

"Yeah, and I'm so going to wipe the floor with you."

"Dat's it!" Kendra yelled out as she ran to fight Buffy.

The two had virtually been at it since they had met. Buffy didn't dislike Kendra as she had originally thought and to be honest, she really enjoyed not being the only Slayer. She was happy to have friends, but none of them understood how lonely she felt to be the the chosen one. But now there was a chosen two.

"They really don't like each other do they?" Jesse asked from his position on the exercise bench, as he watched Buffy block a kick then some rapid fire punches from the Jamaican Slayer.

"Nah, they like each other." Faith replied with a wince as Kendra flipped Buffy over her shoulder and onto the mat hard. "Maybe."

"Ouch." Willow said as both girls fell forward, in a tangle of arms and legs pulling each others hair and slapping each other on the arms and head.

"Ooooh, chick fight!" Jesse yelled excitedly, as he rubbed his hands together.

"Aren't we going to do something about them?" Willow asked after she slapped her boyfriend on the back of the head.

"Hell no. Things are getting exciting." Faith said, as Willow gave her a look. "Fine." she said in a huff as she stood to her feet. "You always have to spoil all the fun."

Seeing that Faith started to hold back Kendra, Jesse and Willow stood up to hold back Buffy.

"Let me go!" Buffy shouted as she tried to leap at her sister Slayer. Jesse and Willow let out a low wince as they were barely able to hold her. They knew that Buffy wasn't trying to literally kill Kendra, because if she was she would have easily tossed them aside. Surprisingly though, it didn't look like Faith was having that much trouble holding back her sister. "I can totally take her."

"She whooped you fair and square, B." Faith said as Kendra finally calmed down. "Now, we're going to let the both of you go and I want you two to kiss and make up."

"I'm not going to kiss anodder girl." Kendra informed her as she glared at Buffy and folded her arms over her chest. "Dat's unseemly."

"It was just a figure of speech hon." Buffy replied as she mimicked Kendra's stance and folded her arms over her chest. "She wants us to apologize to each other."

"Well, I'm waiting." Faith said as she put her hands on her hips and looked between them. Looking up at the girl, Buffy saw that Faith had a little smirk on her face.

'She's enjoying this.' Buffy thought as she turned her glare on Faith. "Fine. Kendra I'm...I'm sorry." she said as she extended her hand for her to shake. Still with a glare on their faces, they quickly shook hands.

"Now, the both of you go and sit down so me and Willow can spar with each other."

"Yes mom." Buffy said mockingly to Faith as she and Kendra walked towards the bench. Halfway over the two started to slap at each other again. Hearing the commotion, Faith looked over at them, making them instantly stop and sit down on the bench.

"Willow is coming along quite nicely with her training." Kendra said to Buffy after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, I can't believe Faith of all people is training her." Buffy said as she watched Faith show Willow how to do a rainbow kick. She could have sworn Willow had told her that she didn't like Faith too much. "Umm, Kendra can I talk to you about something?"

"Yes." she replied as she took her eyes off Faith and Willow.

"Well. um it's about Xander."

"What about him?" Kendra asked suspiciously.

"Well, I know that you've only been here for a week and a half, but have you noticed anything strange about him?"

"Like what?"

"Okay, listen..." she stopped talking as Xander, Giles, and Wesley entered the room arguing about something. Giving Kendra a look, that said they would talk about Xander later, they stood to their feet and walked over to them. "Hey guy's what's going on?" she asked as Xander handed her a newspaper.

"Read the headline." Xander informed her as he went back to his discussion with the Watchers. Hearing the commotion, the others walked up to see what was going on, as Buffy began to read the headline.

"Twenty teens missing, feared dead."

"Damn." Faith said with a grimace as she snatched the paper from her and started to read it.

"So what the hell are you guys arguing about?" Buffy asked.

"Me and Giles figured that these dissappearances are demonic, so we think we should go to LA and check it out." Xander said as he looked back at Wesley. "But Watcher Jr. over here doesn't think we should go."

"There's no evidence that suggests that a demon did this." Wesley told them all stiffly as he grabbed the lapels on his suit. "So this is a job for the police, not us."

"It says here that a few body parts from the people who were missing turned up recently." Faith said as she put the paper down on the exercise bench.

"Obviously the work of a psychotic killer."

"Or a demon that likes to chow down on human flesh." she said as she sent a glare towards Wesley. "So I think we should vote to see if we go to LA or not."

"That's absurd. We're the Watcher's here and..."

"I think Faith has the right idea." Giles cut his fellow Watcher off. "If it is indeed some form of demon, then it might not be long before it reaches Sunnydale. Therefore it'll be prudent if we were to stop it now."

"So we'll vote." Xander said stepping forward. "All in favor of going to LA, raise your hands." to Wesley's dismay everyone in the room raised their hands, all except Kendra. Good faithful, Kendra. That was until Faith bumped a curvy hip into her side.

"Maybe, we should check it out." Kendra told her Watcher. "For security reasons."

"Fine." Wesley mumbled out. 'Nobody ever listens to me.'

"Cool, I can't wait to use that new sword my dad gave me." Jesse said as he ran for the door, only for Xander to grab onto his shoulder.

"Listen man I think that you and Willow should stay in Sunnydale."

"Why?" Jesse asked as he frowned at his friend.

"Because this is gonna be dangerous and..."

"We go into dangerous situations all the time."

"But..."

"I'm tired of people treating me and Willow like we're worthless." Jesse said raising his voice slightly, causing the others to look over at them. "I've been right there in this fight from the beginning. And who are you to place judgement to see if I can go or not? You're barely even around to help us fight."

Xander couldn't help but flinch at the harshness of his friends voice and he was right. Jesse and Willow chose to be in this fight, where as everybody seemed as if they were forced into it. For a second Xander put himself in Jesse's shoes and thought about how he would feel if someone told him that he couldn't help and to stay away from a fight. It wasn't a good feeling. Letting out a heavy sigh, he looked over at his friend and considered a few things.

"Did you get your drivers license yet?"

"What?" Jesse asked confused.

"Have you gotten your drivers license yet?" Xander asked again, as he started to dig into his pants pocket.

"Yeah a couple of weeks ago. Now why would you want to know..."

"Here take my convertible and you and Willow meet us near the Bronze and we'll all leave together." taking the keys out of Xander's hands, Jesse looked at him for a minute, nodded his head and walked out of the room.

"Alright everyone, let's get prepared." Giles said as he himself walked over to the door. "As Xander said we should all meet at the Bronze."

On The Highway

9:00 PM

"I wonder why Xander decided not to meet us at the Bronze?" Jesse asked as he turned on the high beams of the car to see the highway better.

"He said something about he and Faith going on ahead to make reservations at the Bell Plaza Hotel, just incase we're there longer than a couple of days." Willow replied as she looked at the country side as it passed. "Speaking of Xander, what were the two of you arguing about earlier?"

"Noth..." he stopped mid-sentence as he looked over at Willow and saw her "resolve face". 'Damn, why does she have to do this everytime?' he thought to himself. "Xander didn't want us to come with them to slay this demon."

"Why?"

"Because he probably thinks that we're useless like everyone else does." Jesse muttered.

"We're not useless. We help." Willow said as she gently squeezed his hand. Looking back out to the country, she frowned as a large shadow quickly passed over the car. "What was that?" she asked nervously.

"What was..." before Jesse could ask the question they both heard a loud flap of some wings. Trying to look out the window to see what it was, a hand suddenly ripped through the fabric of the car's roof and grabbed Willow by the hair, slowly pulling her up.

"No!" Jesse yelled out at Willow's scream and as he started to loose control over the car. Taking a look at the hand that threatened to take his girlfriend away, he saw that it was slightly green and almost looked like it belonged to some kind of reptile.

Remembering something, he reached into the back seat with his free hand and grabbed his sword. It had a razor sharp blade that was about 27 inches in length, with a black hilt that had a howling wolf on it. Thrusting upwards with the sword, he cut through the roof and into the creature's arm making it howl wildly and to pull Willow up harder. Giving it another try, he stabbed it through the roof again, the beast finally let go of Willow, but nevertheless stayed on top of the roof.

"Willow are you okay?" Jesse asked breathing hard as he looked from his girlfriend to his sword. It had green blood on it, but it also had something else. Something that looked like dust.

"Something...I...I feel..." Willow started to splutter as she closed her eyes. Once she opened them, her eyes turned solid black and she started to scream like a banshee. Before Jesse could even fathom what was going on, a dark aura gathered around her and with another scream she released the energy, making it turn in fire and destroy the roof section of the car.

As the black flames died down, Willow looked over at Jesse with dark eyes, that rolled up in her head as she passed out in his lap.

* * *

"Forget about the car man, I'm just glad you're alive." Xander was saying to Jesse at the end of his story.

"But I want to know what happened to Willow." Buffy said as she walked out of her hotel room and into the hall with the others. Willow had woken up from the drive, but complained about being tired so the others helped her to get some sleep.

"It was way wierd." Jesse said freaking out a bit. "I was trying to get that thing off of her and she just started freaking out. Her eyes turned black and it looked like she was using some kinda magic."

"I can only conclude that someone was channeling magic through her." Giles spoke up as he took his glasses off to polish them. "Willow asked me earlier this year to train her in magic, but I refused. With all the time I spend with Buffy, I wouldn't have time to properly introduce and train her in magic. I highly doubt that she's had time to try to study magic herself and even if she did, it's nearly impossible for her to achieve the level of magical abilities you described."

"But who would want to channel magic through, Red?" Faith asked as she leaned her back against a wall.

"That still remains the question." Giles replied as he put his glasses back on his face.

"Mr. McNally." Wesley called out for further down the hall, as he and Kendra walked up to him carrying the shadow sabre. "I examined and then cleaned your sword and what you thought was dirt, was something else entirely."

"Well, what was it?" Jesse asked as he took his sword back, causing the young Watcher and his Slayer to look at each other.

"It was dead skin." Kendra answered, making everyone have disgusted looks on their faces.

"Nooooo!" came Willow's muffled scream from her room. And as they entered it, they saw Willow sweating perfusely and thrashing wildly on her bed. Running over Buffy and Giles started to hold her down.

"Willow, what's wrong?" Buffy asked as she started to calm down a bit.

"It's...it's not right...hanging bodies." Willow babbled out as she looked around at the others with tears in her eyes.

"Willow, babe what are you talking about?" Jesse asked as he dropped his sword to the floor and sat down on the bed to comfort her. "What bodies?"

"The boy with no eyes." Willow cried out as she sat up and pulled him into a hug. "He...he died so young." after nearly fifteen minutes of Willow babble, which Jesse was fluent in, the gang was able to determine where the Creepers hide away was.

"I'm gonna stay behind and watch over, Willow." Jesse told his friends as they headed to the door.

"I'm going to stay behind as well to do some research on this beast." Giles said as he cracked open a tome from the collection he had brought with him. "From Willow's apparant vision and description, I think I've narrowed down what this creature is."

"Then maybe I should stay behind to help." Wesley volunteered.

"No. I need someone on the field to give an unbiased description of this creature."

"Alright, that sounds reasonable. I'm glad I brought my camera and cellphone." he said as he and the others walked out of the door.

"One more thing, Wesley." Giles said making his fellow Watcher turn around to look at him. "If this thing is what I think it is, don't try to engage it in a fight."

"Then what do you suggest for us to do?"

"Run."

* * *

"So do you think, Willow is gonna be okay?" Buffy asked as the group started to walk further downtown. They had parked their cars a few blocks back, because from where Willow told them to go, the only way to get there was to go down a series of narrow alleys.

"Mr. Giles is doing some research on the matter, so I'm sure she'll be fine." Wesley answered as he took the lead.

"Speaking of our friends, where did Xander run off to?" Buffy asked as she looked around.

"He said something about taking an important call." Faith lamely covered for him.

"Then he obviously doesn't know how important this is." Batman said as he emerged out of the shadows, startling everyone.

"My word, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Wesley said as he straightened himself up.

"Trust me you'll get used to it." Buffy told him. "Now what are you doing here?"

"The same reason you are, Miss Summers." Batman replied as he spotted the warehouse they were walking too. "I believe this is..." jumping back Batman barely dodged a sword swing. Getting into a defensive stance, along with some of the others, they looked up and saw that it was a pretty brunette with a glazed over look in her eyes.

"What the..."

"Damn girl." a tall black man said as he ran up behind her and grabbed the sword out of her hand. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Gunn?" Batman asked as he took a step back in the shadows, making Gunn look over at him.

"What's up, B?" Gunn asked as the two briefly shook hands.

"A different thing." the girl said hysterically as she stared at Batman. "Not the same thing... a different thing."

"What's the matter with her?" Batman asked as Gunn let out a sigh and pulled the girl close.

"Me and my crew found her walking around by herself last night. She kept mumbling something about some monster taking her brother."

"Darry...his..his name was Darry." Trish interrupted as she gave Gunn's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Den we're here for de same reason." Kendra said and for the first time Gunn saw that Batman had other people around him. There was a tiny cute blonde girl, a nerdy type man with glasses and a suit, a sexy girl with long raven hair and the pretty black girl with the Jamaican accent that had spoke earlier.

"Well hello." Gunn greeted as he tried to shake Kendra's hand, only for her Watcher to step in the way.

"You said the rest of your...crew was here." Wesley said giving Gunn a dissapproving look. "So where are they?"

"They're doing a sweep."

"We don't have time for small talk." Batman interrupted the two. "Gunn, I'm assuming that you're here to kill the same beast..."

"It's some kind of a gargoyle." Trish interrupted.

"You've seen this thing up close?" Wesley asked and at her nod he continued. "Then please, describe it to me." as he pulled her over to the side to talk, Batman along with the others walked over towards the warehouse.

The closer they got to it, the less at ease the Dark Knight became. It almost felt like something were watching them. Hearing a birds caw, he looked up towards the roof of the warehouse and saw dozens of crows perched on top of the building. Their little dark eyes seemed to peer through group and send a shiver down all of their signs. No one in the gang was stupid. They all knew that the crow was a symbol of death.

Taking another look around, they stopped at the main door of warehouse. With a nod to Buffy and Kendra they raised up the garage door of the warehouse and were immediately assaulted with the stench of rotting flesh and blood from the dark insides of the building.

"Got damnit!" Gunn yelled out as he and the others instinctively took a step back. Alerted by the shout Wesley and Trish ran over and upon smelling the stench, Trish leaned over and vomited on Wesley's shoes.

"I say." Wes said as he tried to shake some off of his shoes.

"What the hell is that smell?" Faith asked as she put a hand over her nose.

"Flesh." Batman answered as he took out a flash grenade bomb and threw it into the dark void.

As the bomb exploded and illuminated the room, the gang finally saw what was causing the smell. There were mutilated bodies, with missing body parts, hanging upside down from chained hooks. And as the light from the bomb started to go out, Trish saw something else. It was a man with his eyes taken and the back of his skull carved out.

"Darry?" she asked as a tear fell from her eye.

"We've found where this things nest is." Batman said snapping her out of her reverie. "Now I think that we should..." suddenly the sound of rusty chains swaying and foot steps filled the air. As they looked up and into the warehouse the Creeper suddenly emerged out of shadows and pounced on top of Batman.

As Trish and Wesley screamed like little girls, Kendra and Buffy grabbed the creature from under it's arms and tossed it off of the dark knight on onto the pavement. As it stood to it's feet, Faith ran into him with a barrage of punches and kicks. Jumping into the fray, Buffy delivered an upper cut punch to the beasts head, while Kendra did a roundhouse kick on it that sent it staggering. Making the girls move out of the way, Gunn ended the assault as he came down with a hard swing, that left his homemade axe embedded in the Creepers forehead. As the beast fell over, they all looked at each other and then back at Wesley.

"That was easy." Buffy panted out from her slight exercise.

"Don't be so sure." Wesley said taking a step back. Looking over their shoulders, they stared in amazement as the Creeper stood to it's feet, grabbed the axe out of it's forehead, and tossed it with a clatter to the ground.

"What the hell is it going to take to kill you?" Buffy asked as the thing let out an earth shaking shriek, made his wings burst out of the back of his duster, and took to the air.

"Oh, no you don't." Batman said with a growl as he reached into his utility belt, grabbed his grappling hook gun, and fired it into the air. As it wrapped around the demons leg, Batman was lifted off of the ground and high into the air.

Feeling the weight on his leg, the creature looked down and saw Batman holding on for dear life. With a wicked grin it visciously sliced through the cable, sending Batman plummeting to the ground. At the last possible moment however, he activated his cape and glided harmlessly down to the ground in a crouch.

"How the hell are we gonna kill that thing now?" Gunn asked as Batman stood to his feet.

"I put a tracer on it's leg." Batman informed them all. " Gunn tell your crew to go home. But I want you to come with me. I'll bring the Tumbler around and pick you up."

"Got it." Gunn said as he grabbed Trish's arm, his axe and ran off.

"Now let's check in with Mr. Giles and see if he knows how to kill this thing."

As he ran towards the Tumbler, he heard Faith calling out his name.

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said the other day." Faith said as she fell into step with his jog.

"I'm kinda in a hurry, Faith." Batman whined in Xander's voice as they turned down a corner.

"Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you about me being Catwoman again." she replied making him stop in his tracks. "It's about what you said about me seeking redemption for the wrong, I've done."

"Faith listen to me." Batman said grabbing her by the arms. "You have to find your destiny just like I have to find mine. If you want to be Catwoman to help find your destiny, then do that. I'll be right here with you every step of the way. If you just want to be plain old Faith Wayne then I'll still be there for you."

"Alright, but you better not call me old again." Faith said with a smirk as she punched Batman on the arm.

"I'll see you later tonight." Batman said as he kissed her on the forehead and ran for the Tumbler. Neither of them saw Buffy, watching from the shadows. She didn't hear everything they said, only the last part.

* * *

"It started in the dungeons of a 12th century manision in Romania. This was a time of darkness throughout Europe." Giles was lecturing as he looked around the room with a large book. Willow had woken up thirty minutes ago and it looked like she was going to do just fine.

"The original myth has it that a Count Van Verschrikking was consumed with performing ancient experiments in a dungeon which was hidden beneath the depths of his mansion. He wanted to prove he could bring the dead back to life. His experiments included mutating human remains with animals. It was said that his experiments brought back many different abominations of nature, most were not dead, but not completely alive either. His greatest achievement was in capturing a werewolf and mixing it's blood with the blood of a bat and the ground powder of stone. He infused this with the dead remains of a human. Thus that night a gargoyle was born."

"But how do we kill it?" Trish asked, cutting off Giles' long speech.

"I was getting to that Miss, Miss Jenner." Giles stuttered. "In the early thirteenth century a young and noble knight slayed demons alongside a Slayer. It was a time before the Watchers had an effective way of reaching the Slayers and realizing the power she had, she joined with the knight to fight along side him. One night they came across this gargoyle creature that you described and it killed the Slayer. Saddened by her death the knight spent many years in depression, roaming the countryside until he ended up in a small village. He stayed there drinking himself into oblivion, until one night the village was attacked by the gargoyle."

"Then what happened?" Buffy asked after Giles' long pause. She loved good stories, even if they were coming from Giles.

"Then the knight attacked the beast and nearly died. Seeing that the man was about to die a young witch took him and nursed him back to health. They fell in love over the course of a year, had a child and...dear lord." Giles gasped as he flipped another page and saw something that made his eyes widen.

"Giles what is it?" Buffy asked as she took the book away from him and looked into it.

"Buffy what's wrong?" Willow asked as Buffy turned the book around so all of them could see. It was a portrait of the knight and the witch, but what was surprising about it, was that they looked exactly like Willow and Jesse. And what was more amazing was that the knight held the same sword that Jesse carried.

"I...I don't understand." Jesse said as he sat down next to Willow on the bed.

"You two must be their descendants." Wesley said taking the book. "It says here that the witch put a spell on the knights sword, so that it would be strong enough to kill the beast. Before she could finish it however the beast came to the village again and attacked her. Upon her dying breath she cast a spell on the beast, cursing it so that it would be frozen in stone. The people of the village then took it, upon finding that it couldn't be destroyed, and sealed it into a stone box to be forgotten by time. Before the knight committed suicide a few years after that, he had a son by a noble woman named Elizabeth Sumner."

"So does the sword have enough juice to kill the demon anyway?" Gunn asked, getting into the story.

"That's still unknown." Giles said taking the book back. "What is known is that in the early nineteenth century another witch tried to use the gargoyle against enemies that threatened to kill her. Needless to say, she found the demon to be uncontrollable and not knowing the original witch's spell, was only able to curse the demon so that it could only hunt for a few days and be in a hybernative state for twenty three years at a time."

"Hmmm." Batman grumbled as he took something out of his utility belt.

"What is it?" Trish asked.

"As I said I put a tracer on the demon earlier."

"Yeah so?"

"My tracking device just indicated that the thing is here." before anybody could say anything they heard a flapping of wings.

Suddenly the entire outside wall, on the right side of the building smashed to pieces, exposing them to the outside. Batman and the others jumped up in alarm, as moonlight streamed in.

The Creeper then appeared in the wall, which was now just a broken frame with shards of wood and glass hanging in it.

Taking out a batarang, Batman threw it at the demon only for it to catch it in it's hand. Not losing it's stride, it smacked Buffy and Kendra across the face sending them to the floor. As Gunn tried to throw his axe, the demon threw the batarang and it embedded itself in Gunn's right hand.

Moving towards the bed, Jesse got in it's way only to join Buffy and Kendra on the floor. Next up was Batman, who was tossed aside like a rag doll and into Wesley and Giles. Taking his prize, he jumped out of the window and dissappeared into the night.

"Is everyone okay?" Giles asked with a wince as he stood to his feet.

"Just peachy." Wesley said as he looked up and saw Trish trying to dislodge a batarang out of a screaming Gunn's hand. Stepping over Jesse, he moved over to help them.

"Willow?" Jesse said as he opened his eyes and stood up. "Willow!" he screamed as he saw that she was nowhere to be seen.

"The Creeper took her." Trish said as she took off her shirt and wrapped it around Gunn's hand.

"I'll get her back." Batman said as he ran and jumped up onto the window seal.

"Not without me." Jesse said as he grabbed Batman's arm and the Shadow Sabre.

"Mr. McNally, this mission is too dangerous..."

"Willow's my girlfriend...my soul mate." he said taking in what he had heard about his ancestors. Batman looked at him hard and then let out a sigh.

"Alright...come on."

An LA Skyscraper Roof

Willow shivered, not because of the cold draft, but out of fear as the Creeper sniffed her. When she had first woken up she helped Giles with the research on the beast and she had found out that it used fear to tell what body part it needed from a person to sustain itself.

Even with that knowledge, she couldn't help but to fear the demon. And that same fear was heightened when it shrugged off his duster, took off it's hat, and leaned down to bite her with it's razor sharp teeth. Before she could even scream, the demon howled in pain instead. As the Creeper let her go, Willow saw two things. She saw that a batarang was sticking in the back of the beasts head and that Batman, along with Jesse, were gliding down from the sky.

"Willow!" Jesse yelled out as they landed on the roof. As he tried to run to her the Creeper stood to it's feet and back handed him, sending Jesse falling over the edge of the building.

"No..."

"Jesse!" Willow yelled out.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Batman yelled out as he took out a huge curved blade and made a run towards the demon bat.

"Jesse." Willow cried to herself as she curled up into a ball. It seemed that no matter what time they were in, they would never be together. As she thought about all the good times they had together, she heard a woman's voice in her head. It was the same voice she heard when she and Jesse were coming to LA. As she listened to it, her body started to swell with power.

* * *

Falling into a roll, Batman stood to his feet and let out a low wince. This was by far the most powerful demon he had ever faced. And he had the most distinctive feeling that the demon was just toying with him and not even using his full power. As he thought about that, he heard a cracking sound. Dodging to his left, he saw a black cord shoot by his head that slapped the Creeper in the face, stunning it.

Seeing that it was distracted, Batman turned and saw...

"Catwoman?"

"In the flesh." she said with a toothy smile as she threw her cape to the ground. She had one specially made so she could emulate flight, like the bat. "And guess who I brought along with me." she said as Jesse stepped away from behind her. "Now are you ready for this threesome?" she asked as she sashayed over to him.

Letting out a shudder at the thought of having a threesome with his sister, Batman and Catwoman ran to engage the Creeper in a fight.

* * *

"Willow are you okay?" Jesse asked as he ran over to her. But there was something wrong. She just had her eyes closed and was rocking back and forth mumbling. "Willow..." and as soon as he called her name the second time, her eyes snapped open and they were pitch black like tar. Before he could ask what was going on, power flowed between the two and the Shadow Sabre started to glow.

* * *

Ripping half of the chest armor off of Batman's costume with razor sharp claws, the Creeper threw Batman bonelessly to the ground. Turning he saw Catwoman trying to sneak up behind him. Seizing her by the neck, he tossed her high into the air.

With a scream, as she started to fall back down to earth, she opened her eyes as she felt a pair of strong hands grab her.

"Jesse?" she asked as she looked down and saw that they were still hovering almost thirty feet in the air. As they started to float down in an almost heavenly grace, she saw that it was Willow surrounding the two with magic that helped them to fly. "Um thanks." Catwoman said as her claws descended out of her gloves.

"No miss." Jesse said as he took out his Shadow Sabre and blocked her path with it. "He's mine."

"But..." not being able to even finish what she was about to say, Jesse was already making a suicide run towards the demon.

Sensing a familiar power, the Creeper looked up and was just able to duck under a sword swing.

"So we meet again at last." Jesse said as the two started to circle each other. And for a moment the Creeper's eyes filled with recognition of who he was facing. "So you remember me? Good, because this time you die."

Ducking under a shovel sized claw strike, Jesse did a spin and slashed the creature in the chest with his sword. Jumping into a spin kick, that the thing smoothly slid under, he brought his sword backwards and ran the demon in the stomach with it.

"I'll see you on the other side demon!" Jesse said sadistically as he dragged his sword out. Letting out a final whail, the demon fell to his knees, slowly losing it's life force. "Shadow Sabre, full power!" Jesse yelled out as his sword started cackle and glow with a brilliant white light. Swinging the sword out in a spin, he took the demons head off of it's shoulders, making it explode into dust before it's body hit the ground.

With a spell on her lips, Willow walked over and the dust started to hover in the sky in a benevolent black energy. Finishing off her spell, the dust dissappeared into the nothingness of the night.

"Rosa." Jesse said with a smile as he caressed Willow's hair, with a gentle hand.

"Donovan." she said back as she touched his face.

"May our souls meet again in the afterlife." Jesse said as he gave her a lingering kiss. As she returned the kiss, they slumped onto each other and fell unconcious onto the ground. Giving each other a shrug of confusion, Batman and Catwoman grabbed their friends and took off into the shadows.

The Next Day

Morning

"You're welcome to come back to Sunnydale with us." Xander was saying to Trish as he and Buffy got in his convertible. Catwoman was taking, Willow, Jesse, and Kendra back to Sunnydale in the Tumbler, while Giles left with Wesley in his car.

"Thanks for the offer." Trish said with a weak smile as she grabbed onto Gunn's good hand. "But I think, I've found a new home."

"Well good luck." Buffy said as she shook Trish's hand and then Gunn's bad one. "Sorry." she said at his wince.

"It's okay." he said taking his hand back.

"Here's my number. If you guys ever need help out here then just give us a call." Xander said as he handed Trish his card.

"Okay." she said with a smile.

"But just remember that invitation works both ways. If you guys need us then we'll come a runnin'."

"But we don't have your number." Xander asked confused.

"Don't worry, I gave it to your sis." Gunn said as he and Trish walked off.

"Wait a minute." Xander said after a moment of thinking. "Which one?"

"Stop acting all mad." Buffy said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "And let's go home."

"Xander?" Buffy said after a few minutes of driving down the highway.

"Yeah, Buff?" Xander asked as he looked over at her.

"I...I just wanted to talk about a few things."

"Is it about, Willow and her magic?" Xander asked concerned. "Buff you don't have to worry about that, Giles and Wes are all over it."

"No, it's not that, it's about us. I was thinking about what Willow told me earlier. You know about her and Jesse's ancestors having to wait so long to be together."

"Buffy what are you saying?" Xander asked giving her his undivided attention.

"I'm saying that, I don't want to have to wait until another lifetime to find my soul mate." she said meeting his gaze. "Because, I think I already found him." pulling him into a kiss, it was a struggle not to wreck the car. And for the first time in a long time, Xander genuinely smiled. Little did he know but his life was about to go to shit, real soon.

Sunnydale Night

A classic 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite crashed through the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign and screeched to a halt.

"Why the 'ell did we stop at this dump?" Spike asked as he opened the door and looked outside.

"Because we're 'ere to find our son." Drusilla replied with a large smile. "The stars sing to me and tell me that he's 'ere."

"Our son, huh?" Spike asked with a roll of his eyes. She's been off her bird for weeks. "Let's just find someplace to stay."

A/N Next up Xander will meet up with Spike and Drusilla. Then the beginning of the end of this fanfic will start. Also I deleted a few scenes in this chapter. Buffy and Alonna Gunn were supposed to meet and it was supposed to be revealed that the two knew each other from junior high, before Alonna had to drop out of school and before Buffy left for Sunnydale. It was also going to be revealed that Buffy and Jesse were distant cousins, but I think there are enough family elements in the story, so I decided against it.

Also Gunn and the other characters from LA want appear again in the story, because it's going to end real soon, so I want to concentrate on certain characters.

TBC...

Please Review...


	23. Chapter 22 Ashes To Ashes pt1

A/N Consider this chapter a prologue before the final battle.

Also thanks for all the reviews.

To cacklesmadly Gunn gave the number to Faith.

To chuckjamm Jesse got the sword from his father. It was sort of an behind the camera type of thing like they did in the show. You know how they make a reference to something that we never saw.

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, now on with the next chapter.

Chapter 22

Ashes To Ashes pt.1

Wayne Manor

Morning

Xander woke up breathing heavily and sweating perfusely, in his bed. Taking a look around his dark room, he sighed and knew that he was just having another nightmare. Laying back down in bed, he wiped some sweat off of his brow with the back of his hand and thought about what had happened last week.

Life had definately went to shit and all of them had almost died when they had fought the Creeper.And for some reason an unknown power was channeling magic through Willow. He really didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But even after all of the darkness and gloom there were still some good things that happened. Faith decided to renew her role as Catwoman to seek redemption for what she'd done, Kendra decided to live at the manor with them for atleast three days out of the week, and Buffy had kissed him and told him that she was willing to give a relationship a try.

Xander smiled at that last one, as he sat up in bed and got dressed. They were going on their first date tonight and he couldn't help but to put a little pep in his step. Making it downstairs he smiled as he walked past his living room and saw Kendra and Selina watching a Scooby Doo marathon. He smiled again as he watched Selina explain to Kendra who the characters were and what was going on.

Moving on, he walked passed the dojo room and saw Faith and Diana sparring against one another. Diana was matching Faith move for move and made it almost seem like it were just a dance. The two of them didn't like each other at first, but after a while they started to get used to each others attitudes. Faith didn't like Diana much, because she found out that she used to be a prostitute. It reminded her so much of her mother, but Faith had a little growing up to do once she remembered what Diana told her that made her not run away. Family sticks together and doesn't judge , but rather help and support one another.

For the first time in his life, Xander was truly happy. It seemed that his family had finally come full circle and he had finally found the girl of his dreams. Little did he know but today his life was going to change forever.

The Bronze

Later That Night

"What is a beautiful girl like you, doing in a place like this?" Xander asked as he snuck up behind Buffy, who was sitting alone at a table, and whispered into her ear.

"I don't know." Buffy replied with a smile. "Probably looking for a prince charming that's not twenty minutes late." she said making a show of looking at her watch.

"I'm sorry about that, Buff." he told her as he sat down. "But, I ran into some of our bumpy head friends on the way over here."

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned as she put her hand on his.

"Yeah, just fine." he replied, loving the warmth he felt from her hands. Suddenly a song he liked played on the speakers. "Oooo, let's dance."

As he dragged her onto the dance floor, they both started to sway through the large group of teens on the dance floor. Neither of them payed the other kids any mind, because they were lost in their own worlds as their bodies interacted with one another. That was until they bumped into someone.

"Sorry." Xander immediately blurted out, not even bothering to turn around.

"Just watch where you're going, whelp." came a british man's reply, that made Xander's blood run cold. Turning he saw that it was a platinum blonde haired man, with a leather duster, dancing with a tall, thin, pretty woman with long flowing dark hair, wearing a victorian styled gothic dress.

"Spike, it's him." Drusilla pretended to whisper into her lovers ear. "It's our son, the Dark Knight. Isn't he handsome?"

"Xander do you know these people?" Buffy asked as she looked up at him. And for the first time she had known him, Xander looked genuinely petrified.

"Of course he knows us dear." Dru replied with a smile as she layed a gentle gloved hand on Buffy's cheek. "He's our son."

"Buffy." Xander said, finally finding his voice as he grabbed her hand. "Let's, let's get out of here." grabbing Buffy roughly by the arm, both of them ran for the door.

"Xander my jacket!" Buffy yelled out as they passed their table.

"I'll bye you a new one, now come on!" he yelled as they ran out of the club. Giving each other a smile, Spike and Drusilla followed.

"Xander what the hell is going on?" Buffy asked as he nervously fumbled to put his keys into the car door. Once he succeeded in opening the door, he shook with fear as someone closed it. Looking up, he saw that it was Spike.

"What's the matter?" Spike asked as he moved in closer, making Buffy be between him and Xander. "Are you to scared to say 'ello?"

"Alright, you Billy Idol wannabe." Buffy said looking Spike up and down. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

"Ooooo, I just like you luv." Spike said as he leaned in to take in her scent. "You just 'ave so much spunk." and as he looked up, Buffy saw that he had slipped into his vampiric visage.

Cursing herself for not sensing what he was earlier, she punched Spike in the face then elbowed him in the chest.

"Well." Spike started as he took a step back. "Aren't you just full of life? Not for long though."

Deciding to go in more directly, Buffy did a roundhouse kick that caught him full in the face. But to her dismay he only flinched back a bit and swung at her. Sidestepping the blow, she swung back, but he only grabbed her arm, swung her around and threw her into a metal roll-up door. Hitting it high and hard she fell to the ground, but quickly got back to her feet. With a growl he swung again and hit the metal door with his fist when she ducked under the punch.

Swaying into the fray, Buffy was forced to block Drusilla's punch. Holding on to her arm, she looked behind herself at Xander.

"A little help would be nice." she said, only to find that he was still frozen in place. Looking at him in disbelief, Spike punched her in the stomach, winding her and sending her to her knees.

"My third Slayer, ain't that a bitch?" Spike asked himself cockily as Drusilla held the Slayer down, and as he leaned over to bite Buffy on the neck.

"No, but your girlfriend's a bitch." a voice whispered from behind him. Turning, he was smacked across the face with a whip, making him and Dru let go of Buffy.

"Nice kitty." Dru said as she took a step back as Catwoman strolled out of the shadows.

"Let's get the 'ell out of 'ere, Dru." Spike said as he held his bloody nose with one hand and grabbed Dru with the other. Getting to her feet, Buffy watched as they dissappeared into the night before turning to her saviour.

"Thanks for the assist."

"What's wrong with him?" Catwoman asked, ignoring Buffy's thanks, as she walked past her and over to the still frozen in place Xander.

"I don't know. We saw those vamps and he just started acting all wiggy on me."

"Well help me get him into the car before they get back." Catwoman said as she grabbed Xander's arm.

Spike's Crypt

"So that's what you've been wanting all these years?" Spike asked Drusilla as he sat down in their plush bed. "You wanted that little pancy to be our son?"

"Bite your tongue!" Dru scowled at him. "That boy will be our son soon. He must join our family and be fully claimed to the darkness."

"Well." Spike said thinking about the benefits of making Xander his childe. "S'not like I've never wanted to be rich before."

"Then I think we should visit him soon." Drusilla said as she picked up a ragged doll. "Miss Edith whispered to me and said that we must deliver a message."

"What Miss Edith wants." Spike started as he kissed Drusilla passionately on the lips. "Miss Edith gets."

Wesley's Apartment

The Next Day

"Are you certain that he said his name was, Spike?" Giles asked as he drew something on a scetch pad. Buffy and Faith had called both Watchers last night and had asked them to meet at Wesley's for a private meeting. They wanted to discuss with them about the possible new threat of Spike, but also about why Xander was acting so nervously around him. Kendra was out with Joyce at the moment buying new clothes.

"Yeah." Buffy confirmed, causing Giles and Wesley to give each other a look. One that didn't go unnoticed by Buffy. "Giles what's going on? Who is this Spike guy?"

"He's known as 'William the Bloody'." Wesley started as he let out a huge sigh. "He earned his nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes."

"Wow that's fascinating." Buffy replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "Now what's so important about him?" as she asked the question, Giles and Wesley shared another look. "Alright, you guys are seriously freaking me out. Giles what's going on?"

"Spike...Spike has fought two Slayers in the past."

"And?" the current Slayer asked as she looked between the two Watchers.

"And he has slayed them both." Giles finished, as he looked up at Buffy. And as he had guessed, she had a look of both fear and worry on her face, that slowly dissapeared to be replaced by confusion.

"So why is, Xander so afraid of him?"

"Because that creep killed Xand's folks." Faith answered Buffy's question as she walked into the room and handed her a soda. Sitting down on the couch next to Buffy she started to explain. "When Xander got home last night, I made him tell me what was up and he told me that when he was little his parents were killed in front of him by Spike."

'Then that explains why he was acting so wierdly.' Buffy thought to herself sadly. 'Poor Xander.'

"If Xander has any hope of surviving while Spike is here then he must overcome his fear of him."

"Pretty easy for you to say, Wussley." Faith said with a glare. "The guy just had the shock of his life last night. Why don't you..."

"Wesley's right." Giles interrupted Faith's tirade. "From what Buffy said happened last night, Xander could have easily gotten himself killed. And trust me, William the Bloody isn't the type of person you want to drop your guard on." he said thinking about all the stories of Spike he had read from the books Wesley had brought.

"That's why until this matter with Spike is dealt with, I think that we should go out in force while on patrol." Wesley said as he stood to his feet and started to pace. "Strength in numbers would seem to be our best option at the moment."

"Again, I am inclinced to agree with Wesley." Giles said amazed. 'I guess there's a first time for everything.' "There's no telling what Spike is really here for, so as a precaution as Wesley suggested we should stay in a tight group."

"Do you think he's here to kill Buffy?" Faith asked as she put her soda can on Wesley's coffee table.

"That's a strong possibility. Spike has been known to track down Slayers..."

"And with there now being two of them, both of you are bound to be a target." Wesley finished for Giles.

"I don't think that's the case." Buffy said with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What makes you say that, Miss Summers?" Wesley asked as he drank his tea.

"Because when me and Spike were fighting, he didn't even seem to know my name." She said thinking back to the incident. "It was like he was specifically there for Xander."

"Nevertheless watch each others backs." Giles said as he handed her the very accurate scetch of Spike. "William the bloody is a very dangerous vampire and his consort, Drusilla is just as viscious. If we go into this showing fear then he'll pick us off one by one."

Later That Night

Wayne Manor

"Mom is there something wrong with, uncle Xander?" Selina asked Diana as she entered her room.

"Why do you say that honey?" Diana asked as she got more comfortable in her bed. She had become sick with a bad cold.

"Because he hasn't told a joke or smiled all day. And...and he has this sad look on his face."

"Well maybe you should go and talk to him." Diana said as she sat down on her bed. "See if you can try to cheer him up."

"Okay!" Selina yelled happily as she ran from the room. Running to different sections of the house, she finally found him in the dojo room sitting indian style on the floor. Seeing that he had his eyes closed, she decided to sneak up on him.

* * *

Xander sat in a meditative state, lost in thought about what had happened last night. His whole life...his whole life he had waited to find Spike and kill him, but when he had seen him in person last night it was like he was a little boy again, looking at the murderer of his parents.

'What the hell was I thinking?' he mentally berated himself. 'And Buffy, she'll never forgive me. I have to do what dad told me. I have to face my fears.'

As if on reflex, he caught the hand before it touched him and flipped it's owner over his shoulder. As the little body sailed through the air, Selina twisted into a roll on the exercise mat, stood to her feet, and looked at her uncle confused.

"Babe, I'm so sorry." Xander said as he stood to his feet and ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." she said as she looked up at him. "Did...did I do something wrong?"

"No...no." he assured, pulling her into an ackward hug. He was glad that Faith was training Selina or he could have really hurt her. "I'm just a little jumpy today and I'm sorry."

"Why are you jumpy? Is it something I did wrong?"

"Of course not." Xander said as he took her by the hand and sat down on an exercise bench. "Why would you even ask something like that?"

"Because you haven't even looked or talked to me all day." she replied sadly as she lowered her head.

"Hey." Xander said as he put a hand under her chin, making her look up at him. "This has nothing to do with you, okay. It's because I saw..."

"Saw what?" Selina asked, after a moments pause.

"I saw...I saw the person who killed my parents."

"Were you scared?" she asked as she took his hand in hers.

"Yeah, I was. My whole life I've waited to confront him and I froze."

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked with anger evident in her little voice. "Because when I get big enough, I'm going to kill the man who killed my daddy."

Not knowing what to say, all Xander could do was gather his niece up in his arms. He wanted to explain to her the difference between killing Spike and her killing the murderer of her father. Spike was a soulless evil demon and the murderer was evil for what he had done, but was still a man. And the Wayne family didn't go around killing people.

Even though he took Selina in as his niece, he still felt that it was her mother's right and duty to explain to her about demons and the like. Selina was still innocent and so young, but tainted with darkness because of what another man did and Xander didn't want to add on to that. Because once she knew about demons and what the real world held, the last of the innocence she held would be gone forever.

"Selina, let the police handle that guy." Xander started as she looked up at him with hurt and betrayed eyes. "You're a part of my family now and we don't kill pe..." he was cut off as a big rock smashed through the small window behind them, sending a shower of glass all over him.

Putting Selina down and away from the glass, he climbed on the bench and peered outside. Not seeing anybody, he looked back at Selina and saw that she was stepping through the glass trying to pick up the rock.

"Selina get back, before you cut yourself." he told her as he scooped her up off the floor.

"But there's a note on the rock." she said as she pointed at it. Sitting her down, he picked up the rock, shook the glass off of it, and read the note. And what he read would change his life forever.

* * *

"So what's wrong with your ma?" Faith asked Selina as the both of them sat down at the dinner table.

"She said she had a bad cold." Selina replied as she picked up a cloth napkin.

"Tell her, I hope she feels better." Faith replied as Xander walked into the room carrying some food on a platter, wearing a long chef's apron. "That way Xand, want have to cook again."

"Ha ha, Faith." Xander said with a roll of his eyes as he layed the food down on the table. As he went to sit down something fell out of his apron and rolled by Selina's foot. Picking it up, she examined the bottle before handing it back to him.

It was a drug her mom used to give to her father when he had chronic insomnia. She knew that it was highly potent because, it would put her father to sleep in a matter of minutes. What her uncle was doing with it she didn't know, but she had a bad feeling about it.

All throughout the meal she would watch her uncle and she noticed that he wasn't eating his eggs. Mimicking what he was doing, she would only eat what he ate. For the first time since she'd known him, she didn't trust her uncle. She felt somehow that he was doing something wrong.

"I'm mad tired." Faith suddenly said as she finished off the last of her food and stood to her feet. "Good eat's, bro." she said patting him on the shoulder as she walked out of the room.

"I'm tired too." Selina said hurriedly as she finished hiding a portion of her eggs and yawned. She had to make it look like she had eaten some and became sleepy like her aunt.

"Go ahead and go to bed then babe." Xander said as he stood to his feet. "I'll clear the dishes away."

"Okay." she said as she bounded to her feet, kissed him on the cheek, and walked out of the room.

* * *

"So how are you feeling?" Xander asked as he walked into Diana's room. The dozens of snotty tissue papers on the cover of her bed and her blowing her nose seemed to answer his question for him.

"So what's been wrong with you?" Diana asked as he sat down beside her on her bed. "Selina's been worried sick about you."

"I saw the guy who killed my parents last night."

"Oh, Xander I'm sorry." because she knew how she would feel if she ever saw the man who killed her husband.

"It's...it's not a big deal because I'm gonna take care of him." he said as she started to violently cough. "Right after I take care of you." he said as he took out his stethoscope.

"I'll be fine by tomorrow." she said looking at him curiously. "Since when did you become Dr. Quinn medicine woman anyway?"

"My grandfather, Bruce's dad, was a doctor." Xander said as he put the stethoscope over her heart and listened to it. "I never met him, but he taught Bruce a few medical techniques and he taught them to me. Now put your arms back." looking at him curiously, she did as he asked and heard a loud clicking noise. Looking up, she saw that he had handcuffed her wrists around the bedpost of her bed.

"What the..."

"Spike contacted me today and told me to meet him alone." Xander said as he stood up from the bed. "I can't risk anybody following me and getting hurt because of him."

"Xander don't do this." Diana said pulling at her bonds. "What..."

"I'm not going as Batman so if...if I don't make it, then I want you to tell Faith, Buffy, and the rest of my family that I love them and I'm sorry. I also want you and Selina to be financially secure, so I want you to collect my inheritence." he said as he put a piece of paper at her side.

"No..." Diana said, tears stinging her eyes. 'It just can't end this way.'

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Xander asked as he kissed her on the lip and then on the cheek.

"Xander no!" Diana yelled as she again struggled with her bonds. 'Why the hell isn't anybody coming in to see why, I'm screaming.' she thought to herself as Xander walked out of the door. "Damnit!" she exclaimed as she stopped struggling.

Stopping by a bedroom door, Xander peeked his head in and saw his sister laying haphazardly on her bed. It looked like she didn't even have time to change into her night clothes before the drug went into effect. Putting her all the way into bed, he tucked her in and stroked a strand of hair out of her face.

"Goodbye Faith." Xander said as he kissed her on the forehead. Wrinkling her nose up, in her sleep, Faith turned over on her other side and started to silently snore. Looking over his shoulder one last time at Faith, Xander walked out of the door and down the hall.

Opening up another bedroom door, he looked in on his little angel, Selina. Walking into the room, he smiled as he saw her kitten, Miss Kitty silently sleeping beside her on the bed. Leaning over the side of the bed, he took a little silver cross out of his pocket and layed it by her head.

"If I don't make it, one of my biggest regrets is not being there to see you grow up into the beautiful woman I know you're gonna be." Xander voiced aloud as he kissed her on the cheek. "Goodbye babe." he said as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Upon hearing the door close, Selina sat up in bed already fully dressed and looked around. Spotting the crucifix, she quickly put it on as well as her yellow raincoat and followed after her uncle.

Sunnydale Park

A deep rumbling tore through the night sky, as heavy rain showered down from the heavens. The steady beats of the raindrops, as they landed on the ground, sounded like thousands of little drummers. Looking through the shroud of darkness and the heavy sheets of rain Xander saw Spike, standing under a tree smoking a cigarrette.

"Bout time you showed up." Spike said as he took the cig out of his mouth and stomped it underfoot. "I thought you were to scared to come?"

"You're the one who should be scared." Xander said as he took out a stake. "Because I'm gonna kill you."

Letting out a hardy laugh, Spike slipped into his vampiric visage. "Bring it, whelp." he said as the two charged each other.

Looking from her hiding spot behind a trashcan, Selina heard someone let out a deep grunt of pain. The figure slushed through the mud and held at his side breathing heavily and as the thunder rumbled and the lightning flashed, it was revealed to be her uncle who angrily looked over at another man with short blonde hair.

'This is exactly like my dream.' Xander realized as he thought back to a couple of months ago. Chancing a glance over his shoulder he was relieved when he didn't see Selina anywhere in sight. In his dream Selina had followed him out into the night and had gotten herself killed. Taking advantage of Xander's distraction, Spike did a rainbow kick that caught Xander on the chin and sent him spinning to the dirty ground.

"I thought you would put up a better challange?" Spike asked as he grinned widely at Xander. "Don't know why Dru wants to bother turning you."

His plan revealed Xander waited until he got close enough and kicked Spike, sending him tumbling to the mud. As he tried to kick Spike again, the demon caught his foot and pushed him back. Spike then overpowered Xander, pushing him to the ground and punching him repeatedly in the face.

Coming out of his daze Xander grabbed Spike's arm and kicked him away. Xander went to punch Spike again, but this time, Spike grabbed his arm and twisted it around so that he could almost bite his neck.

Alarmed, Selina stood, knocking over the trash can she was hiding behind. Startled Spike, turned to see what happened, just as Xander seized the moment, and head-butted Spike, freeing himself from his grip. He then elbowed him, punched him, and finally knocked him down with a viscious kick. When he stood, Xander threw a stake he had ready, towards his heart. Seeing the projectile coming, Spike caught it between his palms only inches in front of his chest.

"So you do have some moves after all." Spike said impressed as he twirled the stake in his hands. As he was about to come up with another quip, he saw a little girl standing behind the whelp. "Too bad it wasn't enough." he said as he threw it whipping past Xander's head. Turning, he was just in time to see the stake headed towards Selina.

Just as the stake was an inch from the horrified girls face, someone snatched the stake out of thin air. Looking up Xander and Selina saw that it was Kendra and Buffy.

"Thought you'd sneak up on old Spike 'ey?" Spike asked. "We'll meet again whelp and next time come alone." he said before slipping into the darkness.

"Xander what's going on?" Buffy asked as Xander sank to his knees in the mud, staring dead at his niece.

"Babe." Xander said ignoring Kendra and Buffy's presence as Selina stared back at him, shaking and whimpering. Something about the way her uncle was looking at her and her own fear triggered a stray memory for her.

"No..." Selina cried out still shaking. In her minds eye all she could see was Xander dressed as Batman and hundreds upon hundreds of bats. "No!" she yelled as her halucinations took over causing her to faint. Before she could fall onto the muddy ground Kendra picked her up and held her close.

"Xander what de hell is going on?" Kendra asked again as Xander looked up at her with a tear in his eye.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking!" Diana shouted as she slapped Xander hard on the face. The force of the blow sent rain water and mud that was still clinging on Xander, flying to the wall. Thanks to the drugs that Slade made Faith take, the drug Xander gave her wore off sooner than expected and she freed Diana once she heard her screams. "You could have gotten my little girl killed."

"Diana." Xander started as he tried to hold her hand. Seeing that she flinched away from his touch, he lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Diana asked increduously. 'I could just strangle him.' she thought to herself.

"Kit just woke up." Faith voiced, before Diana could make good on her thoughts. "She's asking for you." sending another glare towards Xander, Diana stalked out of the room.

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" Xander asked as Faith and Kendra walked fully into the room.

"You should worry about me forgiving you." Faith said as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "What the hell was going through your mind when you drugged me?"

"Faith it wasn't like that...Spike..."

"I know all about him Xander." Faith said with a shake of her head. "But we take on the bad guys as a team. What you did..." not even bothering to finish her statement, she walked out of the room disgusted, leaving him and Kendra in the room alone.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Xander asked mostly of himself as he sat down on the floor, his clothes still dripping with mud.

"Can I offer you some advice?" Kendra asked as she gave Xander a curious glance.

"Go ahead." Xander replied as he put his head in his hands. 'How can my life get any worse?'

"Dis is someting dat Bruce told me awhile ago. A man has got to know who he is before he can confront his demons."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Xander asked as he looked up at her.

"It means dat you should show Spike not only who you are, but what he made you become." she said as Buffy came into the room and sat down beside him and rubbed his back. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she felt that Xander needed some comfort. She didn't know how right she was because the next couple of days were gonna be the worst of their lives.

Spike's Crypt

Spike smiled down at the sleeping form of his eternal lover. Putting a bloody finger over her nostrails, she inhaled the coppery smell, opened her eyes, and smiled widely at him.

"Where is he?" Drusilla asked as she sat up in bed. "Did you bring our son 'ere."

"No." Spike said as he put his bloody finger in her mouth. "But this is just a sample of his blood." he said as she sucked Xander's blood off of Spike's finger.

"It's so sweet." Dru said licking her lips. "And I can feel his pain. I must visit him soon." and for some reason, Spike felt as though that would be a bad idea.

"I think that would be a good idea." they heard a woman's voice say.

"Who's there." Spike said as he stood to his feet and looked around the room. He couldn't sense or smell anything new in the room.

"I'm a friend." Cloak said as she stepped out of the shadows. "Now let's have a little chat, William."

Wesley's Apartment

"This...this can't be." Giles said outloud as he scanned over the ancient tome.

"What is it, Mr. Giles?" Wesley asked as he walked over to him and looked over his shoulder.

"This prophecy just appeared in the Codex."

"That's absurd." Wesley said as he took the book out of Giles' hands and started to read it. "Prophesies just don't appear in books."

'A boy of noble blood shall rise from the ashes of his dead family and become a Dark Knight. The Knight will grow and destroy the seer of the Slayer of Slayer's and that shall start the tipping of the scale amongst good and evil. The heavens will cry as a road will be named, that will carry the unholy ones new and old. As the young heroes journey down the road of the resurrected old ones, they will fear what can't harm them. If they fail to destroy evils champion the mouth of hell shall open and the world will be flooded with the legions of darkness. And if they win the forces of evil will be pushed back to the beginning.'

"The Slayer of Slayer's." Wesley repeated to himself. "Could this be referring to William the Bloody and his seer Drusilla?"

"And isn't another name for Batman the dark knight?" Giles asked as Wesley handed him back the book.

"What do you think this means?" Wesley asked dumbfounded as he sat down and nervously poured himself some tea.

"Another apocalypse." Giles said with a sigh as he took off his glasses to clean them. 'Could life get any worse?'

A/N I have a big battle planned for the Scooby Gang and the forces of darkness. Also I need you guys to vote. Should Diana be apart of the final battle or should I have her skip town with Selina? I need a decent amount of votes before I can continue with the next chapter.

Also the nightmare Xander kept having is the one from chapter 8 Teachers Pet.

TBC...

Please Review...


	24. Chapter 23 Ashes To Ashes pt2

A/N Thanks for all the reviews and votes. I really appreciate it.

To Marcus, It's about time I got you to review one of my stories, lol. I must be getting better at story telling. The creeper chapter was a last minute thing that I just came up with. I saw that there were no Batman vs. the creeper stories and I always wanted to see one, so I couldn't pass up the oppurtunity to write it into the story somehow. Plus I wanted Jesse and Willow to have a spot in the sunshine sort to speak. And no Angel won't have a part in this story nor the girl he was sent to watch over. But her identity and the appearance of Angel will happen in another story I have planned.

And I guess it's time to tell you guys, that I'm planning on doing a spinoff to this fic. It will take place in the Wishverse DCverse, but it will later tie into both stories and rap up the plot with the mystery character Cloak.

To Anthony1, part of what Xander put his family through and what they feel will be revealed in this chapter.

Also a special thanks to baggo, screaminheathen and everyone else who reviewed. There are officially two chapters left.

Chapter 23

Ashes To Ashes pt.2

The Next Night

Normally Xander would have drove his car at night, but something almost told him to walk. He never noticed how truely creepy Sunnydale looked at night. It seemed that every noise he would hear made it seem like someone was following him. Feeling like an idiot, at the last noise he heard, he turned to make sure no one was following him. Not seeing anyone, he turned back and his eyes widened and breath caught at who he saw in front of him.

"'ello kitten." Dru said with a warm smile. "It's been so long since we've seen one another. You've grown to be very handsome."

"Um...thanks." Xander said as he took a step back. He had read up on Drusilla and found that she was one of the most craziest vampires in existance.

"Don't be afraid." Dru said as she reached out to him with a delicate hand. There was something about her eyes that were almost hypnotic that made him instinctively take her hand in his. Even though her hands were cold, the same cold as that of a dead woman's, there was still something that felt warm there. Almost like a mother's touch.

"Why are you here?" Xander asked as Dru leaned in and took in his scent. She was a bit surprised that she didn't smell fear from him.

"We're 'ere for you silly. I knew this day would come. I saw it years ago, when me and Spike first saw you. You are to be our son."

'She's even crazier then I thought.' Xander realized as Dru pulled him into a hug.

"Now we've come to you, so you can fully be claimed by the darkness." she said as she slipped into her vampiric visage and looked up at him. "Do you have anything left to say before you leave this world to be born again?"

"Yeah." Xander said as he pushed the stake he had hidden under his sleeve into her unbeating heart. "I'm sorry."

"Oh dear." were Dru's final words as she crumbled into dust.

Xander stood there for a couple of moments, watching as Drusilla's dust started to float in the wind, and he thought about what he had just said to her and he was sorry. Not for slaying her, but for what another vampire had done to her. He had found some information about her before she was turned into a vampire and what he found startled him.

She was said to have the gift of sight and upon seeing that a vampire stalked her and killed her family and later turned her. Before that she was just an innocent and beautiful woman that wanted to do good, but a vampire named Angelus turned her into something viscious and unholy. Silently sending a prayer up to Edith Crowley, hoping that in some way he had helped her spirit make it to heaven, and a vow to slay the monster that made her, Xander grimly walked away to make it to Giles' important meeting.

Giles Apartment

Minutes Later

"Sorry I'm late." Xander said as Giles let him into the apartment. Looking at his friends solemn faces he quickly frowned. "What's the what?"

"Just please have a seat." Giles said as walked back into his living room. Seeing a seat on the couch next to Buffy, he quickly sat down beside her. "I've already explained this to the rest of the group, but you must see this for yourself."

"See what?" Xander asked as Wesley handed him the translated version of the prophesy from the Codex. As he read over it, his eyes widened as he both realized that it was talking about him and that he had already fulfilled part of the prophecy.

"The prophecy makes reference to a Slayer of Slayer's." Giles started as he paced around the room. "It's the same nickname that William the Bloody goes by and he does have a seer."

"But...but why would this be important now?" Xander asked as he put the translation down.

"Because, the prophecy also makes reference to a dark knight which is a name that's also associated with Batman. If my guess is correct then they are here to fulfill the events that the prophecy speaks of."

"You've been talking like we want survive this." Jesse spoke up for the first time. "We are going to survive this right?" he asked as he looked around the room at his friends.

"From what this intels, Mr. McNally this might very well be the biggest battle since mankind drove the last of the pure demons out of this dimension." Wesley told him.

"But what does it mean by, the Slayer of Slayer's will choose a road?" Xander asked.

"That's still unclear." Giles answered. "All we know at the moment is that whatever is going on seems to involve Spike and the Batman. Also that if something happen's to Drusilla at the hands of the dark knight then an armmageddon will start."

"Is that all?" Xander asked abruptly as he stood to his feet.

"Yes...yes quite. Now all of you go home and get some rest." Giles told them all. "We'll inform you if anything else occurs."

"Faith can you wait for me outside, I have something to tell you?" Xander asked as she walked to the door. Giving him a nod and a frown she walked out of the door.

"Buffy, I wanted to talk to you about us and our relationship." Xander said seriously, as he grabbed Buffy by the hand and led her away from the group, who were still in the middle of leaving. "I've dated a lot of girls..."

"This talk is already going so well." Buffy said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. She didn't want to hear about other girls.

"Buffy, I'm trying to be serious." and for the first time Buffy looked into his eyes and saw that he was being serious.

"I'm sorry. Go ahead." she said getting serious herself.

"Okay." he said trying to build up his nerve. "Like I was saying, I've dated a lot of girls before but...I think that you're the only one I've ever started falling in love with." before she could open her mouth he continued. "I know we just started dating but I've been feeling this way about you for awhile now."

"Why...why haven't you told me any sooner?"

"I was scared." he admitted. "And if the prophecy is true then I might not get any other chance to tell you how I felt."

"Can, I be honest with you?" at his nod she continued. "I think I love you too. I can't explain it, but when we first met I felt something between us. It was like some kind of connection."

"I felt it too." Xander said with a warm smile, that faded as he thought about something. "But there is something that I've been keeping from you. Before we can go any further with our relationship you have to know the truth about me."

"Shhhh." Buffy said as she put a finger to his lips to silence him. "You don't have to tell me anything about it."

"But..."

"No but's we're gonna get through this thing with Spike and this apocalypse if it comes."

"Alright." Xander said swallowing nervously. "Will, I see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah and maybe you want be late this time." Buffy said giving him a kiss on the cheek, before walking out of the door. Following her lead, he walked out of the door and went to his sister who was leaning up against a tree.

"Faith, I know you're still mad at me but hear me out."

"Just spit it out, Xand." Faith said meeting his gaze. "I'm ready to get home."

"It's started."

"What's started?" she asked, her brow furrowing with confusion.

"You read the prophecy. It was about me Faith..."

"You're so vain." Faith said with a shake of her head. "Dad's parents died the same way and..."

"Faith before I got here, I dusted Drusilla." Xander said cutting her off.

"We're so boned."

Wayne Manor

As soon as Xander went into the living room of his house, he almost walked straight into Diana.

"Sorry."

"You sure are." she mumbled as she walked around him.

"You seem to be doing better." Xander commented, out of a lack of something better to say.

"Yeah. No thanks to you."

"Diana you can't stay mad at me forever." Xander said as he grabbed her arm and whirled her around.

"And why the hell not?" Diana asked as she jerked her arm out of his grasp. "What you did was..."

"I didn't want to see any of you get hurt!" Xander yelled out in frustration. "Don't you understand that I love you and Selina by now?"

"So me being Batwoman wouldn't have ever gotten me hurt?" she questioned. "Xander you're full of it. You just have some kind of a macho death wish and you want let any of us help you with your problem."

"I'll talk to you later." Xander said before he could get worked up.

"Oh no." she said grabbing his arm. "You wanted to talk, so we'll talk. You've been doing this crap since the beginning and that's part of the reason why I'm leaving."

"What?" Xander asked taken aback. He knew she was upset, but he wasn't expecting this. "You're, you're leaving me?"

"It all depends on what Selina wants." Diana replied calming down herself. "Xander you don't understand fully what you've done here. Selina remembers everything and she feels betrayed by you."

"I only wanted to keep you all safe."

"And by not trusting us you ended up doing the opposite." she said taking his hand in hers.

"I don't want you to go."

"I can't live in a place where Selina doesn't feel safe." Diana told him sternly. "I've done that in the past and I won't do it again."

"Can I see her?" Xander suddenly asked. "If you truly want to leave then I have to see her at least one more time."

"Yeah go ahead. She's been asking for you anyway."

"Diana." Xander called out as he went to the door and turned around. "I really am sorry."

"I know." she said to herself as he slipped out of the room.

* * *

"Your mom said you wanted to see me?" Xander asked as he knocked on Selina's door and peeked his head in.

"So you're the Batman?" Selina asked as her uncle walked into the room.

"Yeah." Xander said as he sat down on the bed beside her. "You remember that huh?" he asked as she slapped him hard on the face.

"Then where were you the night my daddy needed you?" she asked as she broke into a fit of tears. Taking his hand off of his stinging cheek, he tried to comfort her but she flinched away from his touch. "Don't touch me!"

"Babe...I was there remember? I...I tried to help."

"I know you were there. I saw you walking across the street before that man made us go down that alley." she said as she looked up at him with hateful eyes. "But why didn't you get there in time? You...you could have saved my daddy."

"I..."

"I hate you!" she yelled cutting off his explaination as she started to hit his chest with her tiny fists. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate..." she stopped as she collasped into his arms, finally breaking down. "Uncle Xander, I'm sorry." she apologized as her tears started to soak through his shirt.

"Shhh..." Xander said rocking her in his arms. "Don't apologize for anything. Just let it out."

From the door, Diana looked in the room with a tear in her own eye. Finally her daughter had let go of some of the pain she was going through about her fathers death and her distrust of her uncle. Wiping the tear from her eye Diana walked away.

An Hour Later

Batcave

Walking down to his base of operations, Xander let out a heavy sigh. Even if Diana and Selina were gonna leave, his niece seemed as though she had forgiven him. And by her forgiveness, he forgave himself for what happened to her father. He didn't pull the trigger but he still felt responsible for his death, because he wasn't fast enough.

"You always seem to get me into trouble." Xander said as he walked up to the glass display case, that held his bat suit and put his hand on it. Hearing a whistling sound in the air, he was just able to avoid a batarang that embedded itself harmlessly in the display case where his head was.

"Talking to yourself mate?"

"Spike?" Xander asked with wide eyes as he turned around, just in time to see Spike step out of the shadows. "How..."

"How did I get in?" he finished the question for him as he ran his hand down a table as he approached. "You know since you don't actually own this dark damp cave, any bloke can just walk in. You might want to get some magical wards for that." he said as he pointed at the waterfall entrance. And for the first time Xander saw Spike dripping wet with water.

"So..."

"It's wierd that a little punk like you get's to 'ave all these things." Spike said as he looked around the caves. "But I wonder if your whore of a mother had of lived, would you 'ave had all of these things." seeing Xander's eye start to twitch he continued. "Oh, yeah I still remember your mum. She was sweet going up, but even better goin' down."

"I should say the same thing about Dru." this time it was Spike's turn to flinch. "I wonder if I should go back and use a dustbuster on her." to Xander's surprise Spike smiled, then laughed at that.

"I already know that Dru is gone. You know because of the whole Sire, Childe thing." Spike informed him. "And I also know, that you know about the prophecy and that's why, I'm not going to kill you yet. I'm just gonna hurt you!" he yelled as he flipped a table over, breaking weapons and equipment as they hit the floor.

"Ah, ah, ah." Spike said as a black snake materialized out of his hand and snapped at the spot where Xander was reaching for a stake. "No weapons. This is just against you and me." he said as he slipped into his vampiric mask and as the snake went back into the palm of his hand. "Spikey boy has some new tricks."

"Oh fuck!" Xander said as the vampire charged him.

Spike then punched Xander immensely hard, sending him through the display case. As it shattered a torrent of glass fell over the both of them and for the batsuit to fall on Xander. With a wince Xander stood to his feet, glad that he wasn't cut and punched Spike hard in the stomach, but didn't make a dent.

"Did that hurt at all?" Xander asked as he let out a sigh.

"Little bit." Spike replied with a shrug as he grabbed him by the windpipe; Xander winced as he's lifted off the ground.

"Do you 'ave any idea how long me and her were together?" Spike asked as he threw Xander the length of the room so hard that Xander shattered a support post, going right through it. "Our love was to be eternal." he said as he picked him up off the floor; holding him by the lapels. As Xander dazzingly looked at him, blood started to pour out of his mouth. "I thought you would be a better challange then this?"

Spike asked as he threw Xander across the room again, where he crashed on top of the hood of the Tumbler. Coughing up more blood, Xander managed to roll off the car and stand to his feet.

"Invensarae!" Spike yelled as fire gathered in his hand. Seeing the projectile coming Xander jumped out of the way and the fireball hit the Tumbler with enough force to push it out of the entrance of the cave, where it exploded in a ball of fire.

Before Xander knew what was going on Spike was punching him repeatedly in the face. Leaving the whelp writhing on the floor, Xander groaned as he saw Spike picking up a curved blade off of his work bench. With a growl Spike walked over to him, kneeled to pick him up by the lapel as he reared back ready to plunge the blade into his chest. But before he could do it, someone punched him in the face, sending him flying across the room away from Xander. The force of which, sent him through a glass table, shattering it.

"Get the hell away from my, bro!" Faith said as she got into a fighting stance.

"Oooo, sending your little sis to do the fighting for you." Spike said with a grunt as he stood to his feet and walked towards the entrance of the cave. The fire from the Tumbler could still be heard from behind him. "Tomorrow night at 8pm on Hamilton street. Be there and we'll finish this." Spike said as he jumped through the waterfall, his duster bellowing behind him as he went.

"Xand. Xand are you okay?" Faith asked as she squatted down beside her brother and looked over his wounds. He was in pretty bad shape and looked like he was about to fall unconcious. And as she looked around the nearly destroyed batcave she saw why. "Diana!" she yelled into a tiny phone, she got out of the back of her jeans pocket.

Thirty Minutes Later

"So how is he?" Faith asked as she stopped pacing outside of her brothers door.

"He'll be fine." Diana replied grimly. "In about another week or two."

"Another week or two?" Faith asked increduously. "But Spike said..."

"Xander already told me." the older woman cut her off. "He's asking for you now."

As Faith walked into the room, she saw Xander trying to sit up.

"Here let me help." she said as she fluffed a pillow behind his head and helped him sit all the way up.

"Thanks." he said as he took a shallow breath.

"Diana said you're gonna be out for about two weeks."

"I can't do that Faith." he said as he let out another wince. "You read the prophecy. You know I have to be there."

"Not necessarily. The prophecy only said that the Dark Knight would be there. So why don't I just call dad and..."

"No." Xander cut her off. "It has to be me and besides dad want get here in time."

"Then what do you have planned?"

"Do you still have a little of that drug left that Slade gave you?"

"Yeah but..." she stopped as she realized what he was asking her to do. "No, absolutely not."

"Faith you have too. Just think of it like this, if we all die tomorrow then known of this stuff will matter."

"You're one hell of a motivational speaker." Faith said as she stood to her feet and walked to the door. "But, I'll do what you want."

"And Spike the next time we see each other you're gonna be dust." Xander said as he picked up a small batarang on his nightstand and threw it at the wall. "Ow." he yelped as the pain from his earlier beating kicked in.

Spike's Lair

Shrugging off his duster, Spike sat down heavily in a chair and started to drink himself stupid. He and Dru had been together for over a hundred years and...just the thought of her being dusted made him crush the whiskey bottle he had in his hands.

"You know that's not going to help bring her back." Cloak said as she entered the room and stood behind him.

"What do you want?" Spike asked with a hint of a slur in his voice.

"The same thing you do. You know you almost killed that boy back there and..."

"Isn't that the point of this whole game?" Spike asked. "And after what he did to Dru..."

"You'll see her again. You follow my plan and you can have her back and anybody else for that matter."

"Tomorrow then." Spike said leaning back into the chair. "Now give me the juice."

"As you wish." ? said as a mist formed around her. As she extended her hands black and dark purple energy flowed out and went into Spike making him scream. After a few minutes, after the power dissapated, he slumped over in the chair exhausted. As ? left the room, Spike's eyes popped open but instead of the customary blue they were yellow and where they should have been white were now red like some kind of reptile.

As he leaned forward, two black snakes seemed to burrow out of his back. Slithering out, but still connected to his back, they both turned to look at their master. Letting out an otherworldly laugh, the two snakes hissed in response.

The Next Day

"Mr. Giles."

"Ah!" Giles screamed out as he turned around and saw Batman. "I do wish you would stop doing that."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Giles." Batman apologized. "I wanted to see if you were aware of the Abjadom prophecy."

"Um... yes the one about you and Spike." Giles said with a quick clean of his glasses. "I've been meaning to warn you about that. Don't slay..."

"I've already slayed his seer, Drusilla. It was before I saw the prophecy."

"Good lord." Giles bellowed. "Do you have any idea what's going to happen?"

"Yes. Spike has named the time and the place and that's why I came to you for help. According to the prophecy I'm not meant to walk alone."

"Yes the young heroes." Giles said reading the prophecy over again. "And you think that's us?"

"Yes, I can't make any of you help me, so I would like for you to arrange a meeting with your Scooby Gang and we'll decide as a team."

Even Later That Night

Giles Apartment

"Has anybody seen Xander?" Buffy asked as she walked through Giles' front door. "I've been trying to call him all day but I haven't gotten an answer."

"He was attacked by Spike last night, along side myself." Batman answered. "Don't worry he'll be alright."

"I want to see for myself." she said heading back towards the door.

"We don't have time for personal feelings, Miss Summers." Batman said as he grabbed her by the shoulder. "We only have... an hour before we have to engage Spike." he said glancing back at Giles' wall clock.

"He's right, Buffy." Wesley said as he walked up to her carrying two nine millimeters. "It'll be best if you check on him after this altercation."

"Whatever you say, Wes." Buffy said taking a step back.

Sensing her discomfort with the guns, he quickly loaded them and put them into his jacket holsters. "Sorry."

"Why do you have those anyway?"

"To be honest, they seem strangely appropriate." he said as he went back to gathering other weapons, that were sitting on Giles table.

"I wanted to make sure again that we're all in agreement." Giles voiced, making everyone stop what they were doing. "Me and Batman talked about this and we're in agreement that we can't make..."

"Giles the way I see it, it's like this." Jesse started as he sheathed the Shadow Sabre. "If Batman and Buffy go alone and fail, then it's just a matter of time before the rest of the world goes."

"He's right." Catwoman said as she slinked into the room. "We're gonna need our best soldiers out there. Just in case things get hairy." she said as she gave Jesse a wink. One that didn't go unnoticed by Willow.

"If that's settled." Wesley started as he walked to the door, with a twelve gauge shotgun over his shoulder. "Let's be off then."

'We're certainly doomed.' Giles thought to himself as he fell into step with his fellow Watcher.

"The weatherman said it was going to rain tonight." Jesse loosely commented as he and the others gathered their weapons and headed to the door.

"Yeah, it's been raining for the last three days." Willow told him solemnly.

"Kinda a doom and gloom message don't you think?"

"If you go into a war thinking you're gonna lose, then you will Mr. McNally." Giles said as he turned around and looked at him. "And that's what I want all of you to realize tonight. This is a war so I want all of you to watch your backs."

"Shouldn't we take our cars?" Wesley asked as they went to the parking lot and passed them.

"No. It's best to keep our blood pumping." Giles said as he once again turned to look at his children. "Now come along, we have a world to save."

"Catwoman." Kendra suddenly said as she grabbed her arm. Turning around, she saw that the Jamaican Slayer had a pensive look on her face. "I...I want you to tell Bruce someting for me, just in case I don't make it through dis."

"Hey, we're all gonna..."

"I want you to tell him dat, I agree to his terms." Kendra said talking over her, in a whisper. Catwoman looked at her for a long moment, as they fell out of step with the group, and she finally realized what Kendra was talking about.

"Alright sis." she said looping an arm around Kendra's neck. "Let's go kick some ass."

"Mr. Giles, do you really think we're gonna win this?" Wesley whispered as he and Giles took the lead of the group. Waiting until they got a little further from the group, Giles looked over at his fellow Watcher and finally responded.

"I don't know."

"The good guys always win." Batwoman said as she dropped down in front of them off of a high building.

"I thought you were leaving town?" Batman asked as he pulled her away from the group.

"And leave you to get your ass kicked?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think so. And besides family sticks together."

"But what about Selina?"

"I left her with Joyce."

"So you forgive me partner?"

"We'll talk about that later." she replied with a grin as they walked over to catch up with the others.

Downtown Sunnydale Street

The rain quickly pelted and beat down heavily over downtown Sunnydale, as if it were washing the dirty city. Dark shadows casted, on every wall as a loud demonic clammering was heard further down the road.

As Batman and the others slowly walked to where Spike said to meet him, they saw that the city streets were lined with hundreds if not thousands of different kinds of demons. Some of them they knew or had already killed before. Nervously walking past them, as it rained, some of them growled and jumped at them.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Willow asked as she hid behind Giles.

"According to prophecy, they are mystically bound to where they are." Wesley informed the group. "But if we fail..."

"Hell will be released on earth." Catwoman realized.

Looking up, towards where someone whispered her name, Buffy saw Lothos and Drusilla standing beside the Master deep in the crowd. Both men were watching her with hate in their eyes and a sneer on their lips. Drusilla just had her arms around the Master's shoulders and seemed to whisper something into his ear and giggle. Just seeing them there and all of the demons growling and whispering sent a shiver down her spine as she and the others marched on.

As they got to the end of the road, they saw a figure sitting in a black throne like chair with his eyes closed. As the group got closer to the demon king, they saw two big black demonic snakes slithering all around his body. Sensing their presence, the figure snapped his eyes open and stared at them all with creul contempt before finally settling on looking at Batman.

"I've been expecting you." Spike said as his blood red gaze lingered on the group. Standing to his feet, his snakes finally decided to settle into his back. And with a mere snap of his fingers, part of the invisible barrier that the demons were behind broke and fifty of snarling beasts spilled out and headed for the gang. "Now it's time to die."

A/N Oooo another cliffhanger. Now to answer a few questions people might have. Lothos is the first big bad that Buffy took down before she came to Sunnydale and Kendra was telling Catwoman that she was agreeing to become a Wayne. Also Edith Crowley is a made up name I gave to be Drusilla's. The way I saw it, whenever she was talking about her doll Miss Edith on the show, I took it as if she were talking about the doll as if it were herself or rather who she used to be.

TBC...

Please Review...


	25. Chapter 24 Dust To Dust

A/N Thanks for the reviews.

To J, I guess you're right that we have to agree to disagree then. As far as who knows about Xander and/or Faith, even though I didn't touch bases with it in the story, I would think that Jesse and Giles know. Of course you already know that Kendra knows who all of them are, but Selina only knows about Xander and has a few suspicions about who Faith and her mother are.

In season 1 Willow didn't seem too perceptive and seemed all to eager to follow up behind Buffy. Jesse would know because even though I've portrayed him as kind of a goofball in this fic, I've found that goofball's could be perceptive when need be. Kinda like Xander was in certain parts of the series. And I chose Giles to know because I wanted in a way to redeem him a little for the mistakes that he made on the show.

For example, even though he wasn't in charge over Willow, he knew that she was getting into or involved in magic. Given his own history and background with magic, I felt that he should have stepped in a guided her, so she wouldn't go down the same road he went down. By having him know who Faith and Xander really are, I felt that when another author picks this story up to continue it, that they would have Giles being more perceptive and use better common sense.

And thanks for the comment about Wesley and Dru. I always felt that Dru was talking about herself whenever she was referring to her doll telling and showing her things about the future.

And to Anthony1, thanks and I'll try to have the Epilogue up as soon as possible.

Finally to my new reviewer WriterChick1990, I'm glad you liked the story and what were your top five chapters that you liked? Also good luck in your creative writing course. If you need any help...

Chapter 24

Dust To Dust

The demons formed a loose circle around the Scooby Gang, all snarling, eyes glazed over with hunger. As the lighting crackled in the sky, a large winged dragon flew angrily in the sky.

"Get ready." Giles voiced outloud as he held his line back.

"Bat's are you okay enough too..."

"Just help the others." Batman said to Catwoman never taking his eyes off of Spike. "He's mine."

With that said he saw Spike walking into a building. Letting out a low wince, even as he ran, Batman unfolded his curved blade and charged into the building after him, only to come face to face with the murderer of his parents. Now the two warriors faced each other, eyes locked, their stances frozen. After a second they started to circle one another sizing each other up.

"So you chose a giant bat to be?" Spike asked as they continued to circle one another. "How neat. Is that how you get your power."

"I don't need this for power." Batman said as he took off his cowl and threw it to the ground. "Now let's go."

Finding an opening as a black sword materialized in his hand, Spike broke first, bringing his weapon over in less time than it took to blink an eye. No one could possibly deflect the blow, but yet Xander managed a counter-strike with almost super-human grace.

"How?" Spike seemed to growl out. Because of Cloak's power he was barely himself and seemed to get more animalistic by the second. He was almost a different beast all together.

"Let's just say my sister gave me a magic potion." Xander said as he smirked at him. The answer seemed to anger Spike even more and his snakes popped out of his back, before he ran full force towards the bat.

Xander locked weapons with him and for a moment, the two warriors were nose to nose.

* * *

The Scooby Gang and the demons stood in classic cowboy stance looking each other up and down. Wesley cocked his shotgun, Batwoman readied her batarangs, and the rest of them readied their assorted weapons as the demons came a little closer. Not being able to take it anymore they charged each other. There was an explosion of blasting from Wesley's shotgun, kicking, axeing, gouging, splitting throats, biting necks, as both sides collided in the utter and most horrible savagery.

* * *

'Keep it together old man.' Giles thought to himself as he punched a hell hound in the face and slashed out with his sword. Even though the fight had just started he was already feeling a bit fatigued. 'Maybe I should have a few more practice sessions with Buffy.'

Looking around the battlefield, even through the rain he could tell that the demons were pushing him and his children further and further apart. Making sure Willow was safely behind him, he pressed his attack on some approaching demons. Ignoring the ringing in his ear, caused by a demons punch, he turned in time to hear Willow scream.

* * *

Nervously clutching a sword, while standing behind Giles, Willow looked around at all the demons that threatened to tear apart her friends. She wasn't offering much help and she silently wondered why she came on this mission.

'Because I chose too.' she silently reminded herself. 'So I could help make a difference.' suddenly her body started to shimmer as familiar power started to go inside of her. Closing her eyes to embrace the power, she suddenly let out a scream.

* * *

Leaning close to a wall of a building, to keep his enemy away from his back, Jesse slashed out with his sword and watched as bodies fell around him. It still amazed him that some of his ancestors skills stuck with him and that every time he would wield his sword, he was reminded of how sharp it was because of it's metallic whisper. Taking his mind off of such thoughts, he thrusted the Shadow Sabre into one attacker, removed it with a foot and stabbed another.

Seeing a group of demons heading towards Wesley, Jesse ran down the line like a madman slashing and hacking killing anything that dared to get between them.

"Keep your guard up, Mr. McNally." Wesley said as he clucthed the bite wound on his neck and fired off another round of his shotgun into a large demon with horns. Seeing that the beast went down under fire, he continued. "Because these animals are pushing us further and further apart."

Suddenly a scream permeated the air.

"Willow!" Jesse realized as he frantically looked around through the horde of demons for her.

"She's over by, Mr. Giles." Wesley said as he saw another gang of demons headed their way. "Don't worry about me." Wesley said as he saw Jesse take up a defensive stance. "Just go to your girl."

Still wanting to stay and help the older man, Jesse looked over at the demons and snarled. Unsheathing his sword again, he twisted it slowly around into a full circle until a volley ball sized energy ball appeared.

"Energy orb!" he yelled as the red ball pulsated and crackled with more electrical energy. "Full Power!" as he released the power ball it ripped through the demons sending all colors of blood and gore to splatter all over the walls and ground. "I'm just giving you a fighting chance." Jesse said to him before running off to find his girl.

"Thank you, Mr...Jesse." Wesley whispered as three demons replaced the first horde and headed for him. Lifting up his shotgun once again, it clicked empty. "Oh bugger." he said as he dropped the gun down by his feet.

* * *

Buffy was taking the brunt of the action, because over fifteen demons surrounded and attacked her. She almost dissappeared under a flurry of punches and kicks by her assailants until they parted as they saw something behind her.

Scurrying off to face other opponents, Buffy turned to see what they ran from and her eyes widened at who she saw.

"Hello, Buffy." Lothos said as he walked around her, spinning his silver gentleman's cane in one hand. "Long time no see."

"My sentiments exactly." The Master said as he stepped away from behind him. "Now come here." he commanded of her as he twisted his arms around, using his hypnotic power. Helpless against his mind control, Buffy could do nothing but walk closer.

* * *

"Alright Kendra, it's time for you to start on your new destiny." Cloak said as she stood on top of a high building and watched the battle.

Throwing her axe high into the air, Kendra unfurled the hidden stakes she had under her sleeves and staked the two vampires that ran on either side of her. As they dusted, she plucked the axe out of the air, did a spin and chopped off the head of a demon that ran towards her.

Taking a look around at all of the carnage before her, she saw Buffy being attacked by two vampires and then her Watcher being held down on his knees by two demons. Quickly trying to decide who to help, she saw Giles and Jesse, who was holding onto Willow's hand, running to help Buffy, so her decision made she ran towards her Watcher. As she looked at him, she noted that his eyes had widened as if he saw something behind her.

"Kendra watch..." but it was too late for Wesley's warning as a huge demon with the face of a rhino and body armor, came up behind her and brought down his huge axe weapon in an attempt to cut off her head. Before it could make contact with her flesh however, Kendra vanished, without fanfare, into thin air.

* * *

As soon as Batwoman engaged some ubervamps she immediately took out the new retractable whip weapon Xander made for her. As she began to spin with the weapon in hand, the bladed whip flew out and slashed into a vampire immediately cutting off the things head. As she continued to spin, she made her fight seem like a sexy yet deadly ballet as she continued to kill demons left and right. But to her dismay more only came.

Getting deeper into the fight a towering red demon suddenly threw aside a fellow minion like a rag doll and rushed her, lunge punching for her face. At the last moment, Batwoman sidestepped and the creatures punch went up to his elbow through a car windshield she was standing in front of, ripping the fist to shreds. With a growl it pulled it's mangled hand out and looked at it, it's fury growing. Sheathing her new weapon, Batwoman stood in front of a 14-foot U-Haul truck and waited as the beast charged again with his good hand. At the last moment, she sidestepped again and it's fist crumbled against the truck side, making it scream in agony and anger. Eyes glazing over in fury the monster turned to face her cradling both it's hands.

As if by magic Batwoman was right there and delivered a short undercut to it's stomach, making it double over. Then she's on him, hitting him on the back of the neck with an elbow with enough force that it sent it to his knees. Pulling his head up she exposed his throat and took out a curved blade like Batman's. As Batwoman's smile died, her eyes turned to stone, even as she cocked her fist back slowly, and ended the beasts life with a quick jab of her weapon. Before she knew what was going on, something banged her on the back of the head, knocking her unconcious.

* * *

Catwoman ducked a roundhouse kick from a vamp, and the momentum of the kick without a hit made him keep spinning before he landed. Doing a side-kick to his side, he staggered into the side of a truck dazed. With a smirk, she came at him with her stake and plunged it home as he turned around to attack again.

But before she could celebrate her victory, a shovel sized fist smacked her on the side of the head nearly knocking her unconcious. Before she knew what was going on, she found herself being held down on her knees next to all of her friends. And as she looked closer she saw that it was demons holding them all down. The group looked a little worse for wear, but overall okay. It was only Willow softly whimpering and Wesley looking as though he was about to cry, that got her attention however.

"No..."

"Wesley what's the matter?" Giles asked, beside his fellow Watcher, with a grunt as a demon pushed him further down.

"It's Kendra." Wesley replied his eyes blazing. "She's gone."

"I'm sorry." Giles said as he closed his eyes to take in her memory. "What got h..."

"She's not dead." Wes cut him off. "She's just...she's just gone." he said as he looked up to the heavens, fogging his glasses up with rain water.

"Willow are you hurt?" Jesse asked misinterpreting her whimpering.

"Quiet!" the Master growled as he pushed Jesse down even further.

"For once, I'm in agreement with the Master." Lothos said as he looked up from where he was holding down Buffy and looked at them. "The final battle is about to take place." he said with a glance towards a building just ahead of them.

'If I could just get my sword.' Jesse thought to himself as he saw it laying only a mere fifteen feet away. As if in answer to his thought, the sword started to shake and flung itself over his head. Hearing a slight grunt, he looked up in time to see that the sword was protruding from the Master's chest.

Before the age old vampire crumbled to dust, he loosened his grip enough for Jesse to stand to his feet. Ripping the Shadow Sabre out of the now dusting Master, Jesse swung hard and chopped off the head of Lothos. Now free, Buffy stood to her feet and smiled at the demons that were still holding down her friends.

The demons instantly recognized that she was giving them the "don't fuck with me smile" before running off.

"What the hell happened?" Batwoman asked as she stood to her feet. "How did you get your sword?"

"I gave it to him." Willow informed them all as she eyed her hands. And for the first time in her life, her voice was full of confidence. "My ancestor visited me one last time and gave me her power."

"Where's Kendra?" Catwoman asked Wesley as she took a look around. To her surprise the rest of the demons didn't make any sudden moves to try to attack them again.

"I'll have to tell you later." he replied as he looked over her shoulder.

"No you're gonna tell me now!" she demanded as she grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. But he didn't flinch from her tone or her close proximity, he only stared over her shoulder. Following his line of vision, her eyes widened aswell as she saw a large dragon swooping down from the sky. "Fuck!"

As the beast opened it's mouth, a volley of fire shot down towards them. Running in front of the group, Willow spread her arms out wide and a sheild of energy blocked the fire off.

"Willow!" Buffy shouted as she watched her friend literally holding back the flames.

"I got this, Buffy." Willow told her with a hint of strain in her voice. "Go and help Batman."

"But..."

"It's alright Buffy." Giles assured her. "Willow seems fully capable of handling herself. Now go, you have to make sure that Batman wins this."

"Jess?"

"Go ahead Buff." Jesse said with a smile as he held up Shadow Sabre. "I kinda wanna slay the dragon." with a smile to her friends, Buffy ran towards the building Lothos told them about. "Shadow Sabre, full power!"

Not being able to go through the front door, Buffy ran around the building and saw a fire escape ladder. Going up it, she came to a huge window and climbed in. Hearing a ring and a ding sound of metal clashing, she looked over the catwalk and saw Batman and Spike engaging in mortal combat.

* * *

Adjusting his grip Xander twisted his weapon around, cutting open Spike's cheek

Spike growled, back-flipping away from him and touched his fingertips to the cut, then tasted his own blood. As he smiled Xander heard the sounds of snakes hissing and they seemed to be coming from Spike. For a brief moment, Xander realised that Spike wasn't just a regular vampire anymore. He was something else entirely.

As his anger increased, Spike dropped his sword and dove at Xander, howling, raking his claws at Xander's face. Fully landing he struck out, knocking Xander across the warehouse. In the same motion he sprung forward, dragging Xander up by his throat, sinking his fangs through his armor and into his shoulder, making him scream.

Getting pleasure from hearing the boys screams he dug his fangs into Xander's shoulder harder. Xander struggled, but managed to slip a stake from his arm guanlet only for Spike to grab it and pull it off of his arm. But all that did was drive Spike into a berserker rage. He swung his fist, but Xander ducked, watching as his fist went through the wall, puncturing a steam pipe. Steam started to vent and Spike reached in, ripped an eight-foot section of the pipe from the wall, bringing a sparkling nest of electrical cables along with it. He swung the pipe section around, whacking Xander in his shoulder. He was a one man demolition crew, decimating everything in his path. He smashed holes in the floor, the walls, plowing through partitions of glass and steel.

Seeing his enemy come towards him Spike pummeled Xander, flinging his body about like a ragdoll. He then grabbed him by his ankle and swung him upwards some thirty feet making him collide with the underside of a massive hanging glass chandelier/lighting fixture. With a grunt Xander fell back to the ground, coughing up blood. With a growl seeing his prey wounded, Spike pounced on him. Strength almost gone, Xander could barely fend off the vampire's blows anymore. In desperation he dug into his utility belt and threw a smoke bomb into his demonic eyes. Eyes blazing, Spike swung both fists downward, Hulk-style, shattering an entire section of the dusty flooring. A shock-wave rippled out from the point of impact, sending waves of two-foot stone tiles flipping up into the air, knocking Xander off his feet.

With a startled gasp he sank downward against a wall. Seeing Spike coming he got on his knees , in shock. Still mad with hatred Spike roared again, conjuring up a century and a half of violence and predation. Dropping the pipe, Spike swung his sword overhead, ready to decapitate Xander and just as the sword reached the top of its arc, summoning the last of his reserves, Xander pitched his body forward, managing to activate his left wrist stake launcher. And before Spike even realized what was happening, Xander sank the stake deep into his chest. With a look of disbelief Spike dropped the sword, turned back to face Xander and then crumbled into dust. The snakes that were in his body slithered out and they too turned into ash.

Finally the Slayer of Slayer's and the murderer of his parent's was no more.

"Mom, dad..." Xander started as he wobbled on his feet. "Rest in peace." not being able to keep himself erect, he was just about to fall over when a pair of small hands grabbed him. Looking up he saw that it was... "Buffy?"

"Yeah." she replied as she smiled down at him, before helping him stand back up. "Now put this on." she said as she handed him his cowl.

"Buff, I didn't want you to find out this way." Xander started as he put on his mask. "I..."

"You don't have to explain anything." she silenced him. "I finally see why you kept this a secret from me." she said as she looked down at Spike's dust.

"But what does this mean for us?" he asked, only for her to get on her tiptoes and kiss him passionately on the mouth.

"Does that answer things for you?" she asked with a chuckle at his look. "Now come on let's help the others."

As they made it outside, they saw that all of the demons were gone and that Jesse stood proud over the dragon with his sword sticking through it's heart.

"Buffy!" he yelled excitedly as he drug his sword out and ran to her. "I slayed a dragon." at everyone else's look he ammended. "With some help of course."

"And Spike?" Giles asked.

"Is no more." Batman told them.

"So what do we do now?" Willow dared to ask.

"I don't know about you, but I say we party." Jesse responded as he walked over and gave her a kiss.

"Wait a minute." Batman said taking a look around. "Where is Kendra?" he asked only for Wesley to look down guiltily. He was given one job to protect his charge and he had failed. Bruce would probably kill him for this.

"I don't know." he answered.

Wayne Manor

Later That Night

Xander sat alone in his room, writing a letter, with a sad look on his face. His life's mission finally ended tonight and he finally found the girl of his dreams only to lose a member of his family.

"How are you feeling?" Diana asked as she put her hand on his shoulder, startling him. "Sorry."

"It's okay." he replied as he took a breath. "What did you ask me again?"

"I asked how are you feeling." at his look she added. "About Spike, I mean."

"It feels like I finally lifted a heavy burden off of my heart."

"But?"

"But it doesn't seem like enough." he admitted. "Dad warned me about this. He told me that this life would be like an addiction."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Diana asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you realize all the good that you've done. Not just for me and Selina, but for the people here in Sunnydale and in LA. How many people owe you their life because of this...addiction?"

"I guess you're right." he said as he leaned back in his seat some more and popped a pain killer. "But I want to have a family one day, I don't want to be what dad told me he was. I don't want to be consumed by darkness."

"And you want." she said as she took his hand in hers. "You have me, your sister, and Selina here to make sure that you never go down that road. And as for having a family, aren't you and Buffy dating now?" she asked suggestively, causing him to blush. Looking over his shoulder, she saw a little of what he was writing.

"Xander what are you doing?"

"I was just writing out what I wanted to tell dad about Kendra." Xander said as he followed her line of vision. "He's been looking for her, for almost eight years and he's gonna go ballistic when he finds out that she's gone again."

"You know she's not dead right?" Diana asked as she sat down on his desk.

"I'm not all that sure on that." he replied as he put his pencil down. "I just can't feel our connection anymore. Like when me and Faith are apart we can sort of tell if the other is hurt or not."

"You know why you can't feel her?" Diana asked. At his confused look she explained. "It's because you don't have any faith." she said as she took a little silver cross from around her neck and put it around his. "I and everybody else believe that she's alive and well. So it's time for you to do the same."

"Yes ma'am." Xander said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as she stood to her feet and walked to the door. "Diana."

"Yeah?" she asked as she turned around to look at him.

"You know I love you right?" he had to let her know that, because he never got a chance to tell Kendra that.

"Good night, Xander." she said with a wink as she walked out of the door.

Putting his pencil down after a few minutes of writing, Xander stood to his feet and walked through his house. Seeing that everyone was asleep and that he was restless, he walked down to the batcave. There was just a couple more things he had to do.

Summers Residence

"You seem awfully cheerful, honey." Joyce commented as she opened Buffy's door. "I heard you singing, when I was in the hallway."

"Shhh..." Buffy replied as she put her finger to her lips. As Joyce came fully into the room, she saw that Selina was asleep and laying in Buffy's lap. Putting the little girl all the way on the bed, she watched as she stuggled into the pillow, before joining her mom in the hallway.

"You two seem to be getting along." Joyce said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, can we trade Dawn in for Selina?"

"Buffy!" her mother admonished.

"I was just joking mom." Buffy said with a wide smile and a chuckle.

"Like I was about to say, every since you came home tonight you've been overly cheerful. What's going on?"

"How do...how do you know when you're in love?"

'So that's what it is.' Joyce thought to herself. "Well when you see him, does your heart beat a little faster?"

"Oh yeah." Buffy said loosely as she leaned up against the wall.

"And when you wake up in the morning, do you find yourself just thinking about him?"

"I have the love bug don't I ?" Buffy realized.

"I'm afraid so." Joyce said with a smile at her daughters expense. "But just make sure that I meet this boy before you fall all the way in love." Joyce advised as she walked away. She really didn't like Buffy's choice in men, especially last year when she dated that boy Pike.

Shaking her head at the departing form of her mother, Buffy walked into the room and immediately felt a chill.

"I don't remember leaving that window open." she said aloud as she went over to close it.

"You didn't." a voice said behind her. Turning she saw Batman step out of the shadows.

"You know you're the only person who can sneak up on me like that." she informed him as she pulled him into a hug.

"It's just a little thing I do." he replied with a shrug.

"So why are you here?"

"I just came to tell you that I'll pick Selina up tomorrow." Batman informed her as he broke their hug.

"Is that all you came for?" Buffy asked shyly.

"No." he replied with a grin as he leaned down and started to kiss her passionately. Little did they know but Selina had woken up and saw the two kissing. Deciding to give them a little privacy, she closed her eyes back up and pretended to be asleep.

"Now I have to go." he said breaking their kiss.

"Go?" Buffy asked wiping her mouth. "Go where?"

"To my night job." Batman said with a hint of amusement as he started to climb out of the window. "Good night, Miss Summers."

Watching as Batman dissappeared into the night, Buffy turned around and looked at Selina's sleeping form.

"Alright, how much did you see and hear?" she asked as Selina opened her eyes and started to burst out laughing. Chuckling herself, Buffy jumped on her bed and started to tickle the little girl unmercifully.

On top of a high building

Later That Night

Batman stood on top of a building overlooking the city with a curious glance, his cape bellowing behind him by an unseen wind.

"After tonight, I finally figured out what my father told me about. Being Batman wasn't about revenge, it was about righting wrongs and to help the hopeless." he said to himself as he crouched low to drink in the night.

"Before I came to Sunnydale, I thought that after I killed Spike, that my journey as Batman would be over. Now I see that it's at it's beginning. I still haven't figured out what happened to my sister Kendra, but I'll find her. Thanks to a friend I now feel in my heart that she's not dead, but in a strange way I feel that she's out there somewhere finding her own destiny."

Suddenly a woman's scream could be heard in the distance.

"Now all I can do is keep a watchful eye over this city." he said as he shot out a grappling hook line. "And let the criminal and demonic world know that they themselves will now fear the night." with that said he swung off the building and allowed the darkness to swallow him.

DC verse/ Wishverse

Sametime

"Ow me head." Kendra said to herself as she wobbled unsteadily on her feet. Putting her hand to her temple to ease the throbbing pain, she looked up and saw a giant clay like fist, heading for her face.

Before she could move a black blur swept her off of her feet and got her out of harms way.

"Miss are you alright?" a familiar voice asked her. Opening her eyes back up, she saw that it was Batman who had rescued her.

"Bruce?" she asked, before passing out. With a frown, Batman gave the girl a look, before he ran back deeper into the mall to engage Clayface. After the fight, he knew he had to take the girl with him to figure out how she knew who he was.

A/N A year and a half later Buffy had her one and only child with Xander. Her name was Eliza Wayne. And after graduating they married. Sometime after that, Willow and Jesse had their own child Dick Grayson McNally. If you want to know the futures of any other character just ask and all that's left now is going to be an epilogue. It'll give you a brief glimpse of the future.

Oh and Xander told Buffy that Selina knew about his secret identitiy.

TBC...

Please Review...


	26. Epilogue : A Glimpse of the Future

A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. This has been a nice run, by doing this batman fanfic. Thanks to you guys I went over my goal and recieved over 270 reviews.

To BAKAMAN all will be revealed about Kendra when I start her story up.

To ReiSkye there won't be a sequel or a year two to this story but rather a spinoff and I'm also going to do the halloween episode for season two. I hope another author wants to pick this story up and do something with it, but I have a ton of more fics I have to get started on. I'm glad you liked this fic though and I'm glad I finally got you too review and I hope you review this chapter..

To Anthony1, I'm glad you enjoyed this story and thanks as always for your reviews. Alot of what happens to some of the main characters will be shown at the end of daughter at the dark knight. But over six characters from the Buffyverse/ Angelverse will lose their lives.

I want go into every detail of what happens during certain seasons because I want another author to pick this story up later and come up with their own ideas. What I can say for certain is that after Sunnydale falls, Giles will lead the council like he did on the show. Faith will have two children of her own by a made up character and lay down the mantle of Catwoman, only to pick it up again when her brother needs help.

Xander will help his father with his company and take over for Batman. Part of what happened to Buffy will be mentioned in this chapter, but before that she took over as being the top Slayer in Giles' new council. Willow and Jesse will have their own computer company, but something happens to Willow to cause her to help out the bat family. It will be revealed at the end of Kendra's Batman tale, along with what's going to happen with all the other characters.

Joyce is still alive, because when she had a brain tumor Xander called his father and had her rushed to Gotham to get the procedure done right. Dawn works for the Council as a Watcher. Wesley, Lorne, and both Gunn's work with Angel, after he and his new team moved to LA. Diana became a nurse like she always wanted and is now a lead doctor at a hospital in Gotham.

A/N Takes place eighteen years in the future.

Epilogue

A Glimpse Of The Future

Kyle Manor

Bludhaven, New Jersey

Eighteen Years Later

A now twenty six year old Selina walked into her lavish mansion with a sad look on her beautiful face. Picking lent off of her all black church outfit, she ran a frustrated hand through her long blonde hair and threw her car keys down on a nearby table.

Opening the door even further her cousins Eliza and Dick walked in behind her. Dick was tall, handsome, and slightly muscular built. Loosening his tie, Dick let out a heavy sigh and walked into the kitchen. Wiping the last of the tears off of her face, Eliza and Selina sat down on the living room couch.

"I still can't believe that, uncle Alfred is gone." Eliza said as she layed her head down on Selina's lap and started to cry all over again.

Truthfully, he was more then an uncle to her. He was more like a father. Ever since her mom died Selina, Diana, and Alfred had a hand in raising her. Til this day she always felt that her father didn't care about her because he was never around. When her mom died they just drifted further and further apart. It was almost like he couldn't stand to look at her because she reminded him so much of her mother.

"As much as it pains me to say it, I'm happy that he's gone." Selina said as she started to stroke her neices hair. She was the spitting image of Buffy except for her brown hair and eyes like her father's.

"Selina how can you say something like that?" Dick asked as he walked out of the kitchen, drinking a soda and sat down next to them.

"Because he's been suffering from cancer for years now." Selina said meeting his dark gaze. "And I got so tired of seeing him laying there in bed fading away. That wasn't a tribute to the strong man, I knew seeing him that sick. At least now he can finally rest and he's in a far better place then this."

"Sorry." Dick apologized, lowering his head in understanding.

"It's okay." she said as she layed a hand on top of his. He looked more like his mother Willow, but he had his father's heart. Suddenly she heard a familiar beeping sound. Taking a tiny black video phone out of her purse, she rolled her eyes as she saw the information Oracle was sending her.

"What is it?" Eliza asked as she sat up and looked at her.

"It's your dad." Selina replied as she put the vid-phone back into her purse. "He's in trouble again."

Every since Xander took temporary control over being Batman in Gotham after the destruction of Sunnydale and so Bruce could concentrate on his company, he started becoming a little more wreckless. Selina knew why he was like that, it was because of Buffy's death, but everytime she or anybody for that matter tried to talk to him about it, he would shut them down. That in turn caused a strain in the relationship between Eliza and him. And it also caused for Eliza to want to move in with Selina and to finish off school in Bludhaven.

"Now come on, let's suit up." Selina ordered as she stood to her feet. Following her lead, they walked into a large room with nothing important in it but a large oversized mirror. Tapping on the glass twice, a beam of light suddenly scanned all three of them.

"Retinal scans complete." a smooth woman's computer voice said. "Welcome Selina Kyle, Eliza Wayne, and Richard McNally."

The mirror then separated, revealing an elevator behind it. Stepping into it and pushing a button they slowly started to descend deeper beneath the house. As it came to a halt the doors opened and they stepped into a massive dark basement area. It wasn't the batcave but it was close enough.

Running over to a large oak closet on a far wall, Selina opened it and stared inside. Too the left was a black almost zorro type of mask with a black and blue form fitting costume under it. Too the right was a costume that was red and green with a R symbol on the chest and a yellow and black cape. And finally in the middle was the cowl and costume of...

Later that night

Gotham

Standing on top of a high building in Gotham, Nightwing and Robin looked over the city and at the twinkling lights below. Nightwing crouched down low to better take in the city, showing off his slightly muscular body. While Robin merely stood in place with her cape wrapped around her body. As a mysterious wind blew, it made her cape billow, revealing her girlish figure underneath.

"Robin, your dad is located on the east end of the city." their leader said as she stepped in between them and looked down at her tracking device. "Now let's..." suddenly a titanic boom rocked the night, sending up a cloud of smoke deeper in the city.

"You two, go and assist Batman." Selina said as she handed Robin the tracking device. She smiled as she watched her cousins jump off of the building and dissappear into the night. She had personally trained them both and they made her very proud. Taking her mind off of those thoughts, she concentrated on the mission at hand and shot off a grappling hook line.

"I guess there's no rest for the wicked." Batwoman said to herself as she turned around with a smile, as if looking at the readers of this fic. "What? You didn't think I was going to dress up as a cat when I got older did you?" she asked as she jumped off of the building, swinging to her next adventure.

The End

A/N As I said in an earlier chapter, I personally wanted to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. As far as words it was one of my biggest and longest stories. I hope you guys join me on the next batman adventure that takes place in the wishverse. It stars Kendra and the story will be called the daughter of the dark knight.

Also Dick, Jesse and Willow's son was there visiting for the summer. Also this scene took place a few hours after Alfred's funeral. And yes, Willow is the Oracle. You'll see what happened to her that made her the Oracle in the spinoff. And to Hatten JC, I lied when I said Robin was gonna be a guy. I hope you liked what I came up with.

Please Review... I want to make it an even 300 reviews, so please guys help me to get to that goal. All I need is 19 reviews.


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